BMW R 1200 – Motorcycle.comhttp://www.motorcycle.com
Motorcycle Reviews, Videos, Prices and Used MotorcyclesFri, 09 Dec 2016 02:22:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.2http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2017-bmw-r-ninet-pure-and-r-ninet-racer-previews.html
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2017-bmw-r-ninet-pure-and-r-ninet-racer-previews.html#commentsTue, 04 Oct 2016 13:49:24 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?p=452242017 BMW R nineT Pure and R nineT Racer PreviewsConfirming what we were first to report, more]]>Confirming what we were first to report, BMW is adding two new variants to its R nineT line, introducing the R nineT Pure and R nineT Racer. They join the original R nineT and the previously-announced R nineT Scrambler. The four models form the basis of what BMW calls its Heritage line of classically-styled modern motorcycles.

The R nineT Pure and Racer both make use of the modular steel tubular space frame as the Scrambler which opens up several avenues for customization.

The Pure is a classic roadster, even moreso than the base model R nineT. Priced at 12,300 euros (about US$13,726), it slots in under the base model’s 14,900-euro price tag. To get the lower price, BMW did away with the R nineT’s radial-mount calipers and 46mm upside-down fork. In their places are traditionally-mounted four-piston front brake calipers and a rightside-up 43mm telescopic fork. BMW also swapped out the R nineT’s wire-spoke wheels for five-spoke 17-inch light alloy cast wheels, though wire spoke wheels will be offered as an option.

Other R nineT Pure features include a circular analog tachometer, two-into-one exhaust, and forged aluminum footrests and fork bridges and a Catalano Grey non-metallic paint job.

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2017-bmw-r-ninet-pure-and-r-ninet-racer-previews.html/feed7more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2016-wire-wheel-adventure-shootout
http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2016-wire-wheel-adventure-shootout#commentsSat, 24 Sep 2016 15:41:10 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?post_type=shoot-outs&p=447762016 Wire-Wheel Adventure ShootoutThe introduction of Honda’s new Africa Twin has the potential of re-racking the pecking order in motorcycling’s hottest category: adventure touring. more]]>The one overriding edict in choosing this year’s consortium of adventure bike players is obvious from the story’s title – spoked-hoops, which essentially demonstrates a manufacturer’s commitment to the off-road worthiness of its bike. The introduction of Honda’s new Africa Twin has the potential of re-racking the pecking order in motorcycling’s hottest category, so we gathered five of its likely competitors that are either top-rated or recently updated. The Honda bridges engine displacements, ranging from Triumph’s 800cc Tiger XCx to Yamaha’s 1199cc Super Ténéré ES, and we also included ADV icons like KTM’s 1190 R Adventure and BMW’s what-will-they-think-of-next R1200GS Adventure, plus Ducati’s radical A-T entrant, the new Multistrada Enduro.

Instead of traversing California’s entire coastline like last year’s 2015 Ultimate Sports-Adventure-Touring Shootout, we kept things local this time ’round, taking the longest, twistiest route to SoCal’s Big Bear Lake area. Once in the mountains, the plan was to spend a couple of days riding a variety of mildly challenging off-road routes an adventure bike rider might encounter. What we discovered, in addition to the strengths and weaknesses of the bikes ridden, is the MO staff’s terrible sense of direction and inability to follow turn-by-turn GPS instruction.

Adventure bikes are available in a variety of sizes, weights and prices. Some are more off-road-worthy, while others prefer paved adventures, and a few can almost match a Gold Wing bell-for-bell and whistle-for-whistle in a touring role.

Day 1

Things got underway normally enough with an early morning breakfast at Hill Street Cafe at the base of Angeles Crest Highway. Bellies full, we traced Hwy. 2 northeast toward a rendezvous with Sean Alexander. Triumph’s scramble to provide a Tiger 800 XCx had Alexander picking up and packing the Tiger Tuesday morning instead of prior to our launch date. The tight timeframe meant Alexander missed breakfast, and the Tiger missed having saddlebags installed. Once our entire crew was assembled, including Scott Rousseau from Dirtbikes.com subbing for Troy Siahaan, our boy band left the Angeles National Forest for the adjoining one in San Bernadino.

Climbing into the San Berdoo mountains, we wend our way up a seriously tight roadway, still on course to the tasty lunch spot I pre-programmed into the BMW’s GPS. Riding the Tiger behind Alexander on the GS Adventure, there’s an expected lack of corner exit punch from the smaller-displacement machine. The Tiger’s sporty-quick steering makes quick work of the unrelenting stream of 15-mph corners, but they’re accompanied by the sound of dragging footpegs, which are positioned comfortably low to allow plenty of legroom on an adventure bike with only a 33-inch stock seat height.

The most dirt-oriented Tiger 800 in Triumph’s lineup, the XCx, was lauded as an exceptionally sporty street machine. The inline-three-cylinder engine can take a lot of the credit, as Triumph Triple streetbikes are well-loved by the MO brigade.

“On the street, the XCx handles like the sportbikes from which it is derived, even with its skinny 21-inch front wheel,” says Rousseau. “It turns into a corner easily, delivers decent feedback through the front end, and is fun to hammer the throttle on the exit so that the ears can hear the sweet growl of that silky Triple.”

The least physically imposing bike of the six bikes assembled, the Tiger resembles a VW Beetle outfitted in off-road attire among monster trucks with bigger-is-better attitudes. “A great choice for a smaller person like myself,” says 5-foot-8 John Burns. The Tiger also boasts the only non-Twin engine arrangement in the group. While not an especially strong characteristic in the dirt (more on that later), the inline-three was a favorite among all testers when riding pavement.

It should be noted the Tiger enjoyed the weight advantage of not having hard luggage mounted. For equity, we weighed an XCx with saddlebags mounted, and used that figure in determining its Scorecard ranking.

At the other end of the weight/displacement spectrum is BMW’s R1200GS Adventure – the lovechild of Angus MacGyver and Robin Leach – the solid gold Swiss Army Knife of the rich and famous. The GS Adventure does everything, from interstate-straight to light-footed sportiness to competent off-roading, but it clearly distinguishes itself from the other bikes here as the indisputable king of electronic gadgetry, with a price tag ($24,384 as tested) commensurate with its amount of gizmos.

The MSRP of a base model R1200GS Adventure is a comparably affordable $18,695. It’s the added packages (Touring, Premium, etc.) that make your eyes bulge at the final figure. Even the soft luggage fitted to our test unit retails for $1,319. But who cares when you can afford it? Duke sums it up nicely: “Does an ADV bike need a Gear Shift Assistant? No! Did I have fun using it on twisty paved roads? You bet!

“If cost was no object, the GS would be my first choice if I had to ride from California to New York via Utah and Colorado,” says Dukester. “It’s super comfortable and capable of traversing rock beds and canyons and interstates with unmatched aplomb.”

At 632 wet pounds the Adventure scales in 15 pounds lighter than Ducati’s new Multistrada Enduro (647 pounds wet), but some of that is attributed to the soft luggage of the BMW vs. the hard luggage of the Duc. Both bikes carry 7.9 gallons (about 48 pounds) of fuel, which is 1.8 gallons (11 pounds) more than the bike with the next most voluminous fuel capacity, Yamaha’s Super Ténéré with 6.1 gallons.

The Atacama Adventure Luggage System on our test bike is new from BMW, and the only soft luggage in the test. Both the saddlebags and the top case are waterproof, durable, much lighter and more flexible than hard luggage. The top case includes backpack straps, and is large enough to fit a tent, sleeping bag, pillow and bed roll.

Like the Duc, the BMW is outfitted with semi-active suspension, which works satisfactory, but compared to the Multistrada and its Skyhook suspension, some of our testers thought it could be better. “While the GS never put a wheel out of place on the street, the Dynamic ESA felt a little soft for my tastes with the ride being too floaty,” says Brasfield. Conversely, Duke had praise for the Beemer’s suspension that could be dialed up to his liking no matter the terrain or speed, and he had kudos for its Telelever fork that nearly eliminates front-end diving during deceleration, a feature appreciated when two-upping a passenger.

We didn’t make it far from our lunch stop – about 15 seconds after saddling up, in fact – before veering from the route I painstakingly planned. After looping aimlessly around the residential area of Crestline, CA, we were again enjoying the twisty, elevation-changing roads mountains typically deliver. So what if we missed a turn, there’s always another twistier mountain road just around the bend, making it easy to keep gathering the mileage necessary in assessing the streetability of each machine. If only we’d known how much our streetwise, cavalier attitudes would come to haunt us the next day.

Hold that thought, as we’ve a few more models to suss out on the pavement today.

Our Multistrada Enduro was piecemealed together from the Ducati parts catalog, but it basically has the same equipment you’d get from purchasing the Enduro Pack: engine crash bars, radiator crash bars, oil radiator guard, sprocket cover, broader kickstand base. Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires replaced the stock Scorpion Trail IIs. These accessories lifted its MSRP up from $21,295 in stock trim to a lofty $24,841 as tested.

It’d be easy to assume that Ducati’s fire-breathing 1198cc DVT Testastretta Twin would vanquish anything in ADV land, but it had yet to meet KTM’s 1190 Adventure R. On paper the Duc’s Twin clearly has the upper hand: 132.7 hp at 9,700 rpm and 80.6 lb-ft of torque at 7,600 rpm vs. 119.7 hp at 9,900 rpm and 74.3 lb-ft of torque at 7,800 rpm of the KTM. The 13 horsepower and 6.3 pound-feet to the Duc’s advantage isn’t enough, though, to make up for the 82-pound difference in wet weight the KTM enjoys, 647 pounds vs. 565 pounds.

The Scorecard reveals the power-to-weight equation, with the KTM moving 4.7 pounds per horsepower to the Duc’s 4.8, and 7.6 pounds per pound-foot for the KTM vs. 7.8 pounds per pound-foot for the Duc, but there’s no denying the roll-on comparisons where the KTM stepped away from the Ducati in 6th-gear races, as well as edging the Duc in a 4th-gear contest. The BMW did well to nearly keep pace during the 6th-gear roll-ons.

From the Honda’s 85.7 hp to Ducati’s 132.7 hp, there’s a wide variance in horsepower output, but note that where it matters most – in the midrange – all bikes (except for Triumph) are making in the neighborhood of 80 hp. The KTM’s knobby tires apparently clipped off a couple of ponies from its max output, as the non-R KTM we tested last year with street tires measured 123.6 hp at 9,400 rpm, and 77.3 lb-ft at 8,000 rpm.

“The KTM’s V-Twin delivers serious punch on and off the trail,” says Rousseau. “To me, it felt as if it was in a close heat with the Ducati for overall power output. The 1190 isn’t as smooth as the Honda once you venture off-road, but the big orange machine more than makes up that by being snappy and fun.”

The Ducati’s failure to whoop the KTM in roll-on contests can also be blamed on the significant dip in power from 4,000 rpm to 6,000 rpm. The Duc actually dips below the Honda’s torque production at 5,800 rpm.

Brasfield chimes in about the Ducati, “In the twisties, the engine was able to unleash its beast mode. Ripping through the gears after exiting a corner never failed to put a smile on my face.” To which Sean Alexander adds, “Like the KTM, the Multistrada feels better the faster you ride it – that’s a lovable trait in a motorcycle.”

Ducati got dirt-serious with the Multistrada Enduro, but it hasn’t lost much of its street chops. The heaviest bike in the test, the Multi still makes quick work of straightening corners and breaking speed limits.

Almost equal to the BMW in bells and whistles, the Multistrada should make for a fantastic long-distance travel companion, but more than one tester commented about the bike’s ergonomics. Brasfield says it best:

“The Duc’s riding position was quite odd,” he says. “First, the seat is really high when you’re trying to mount the bike or just put both feet on the ground. Then, the seat is really low when you’re actually riding. This feeling comes less from the seat-to-peg relationship than the seat-to-bar. When sitting in the saddle, the grips seem strangely high. However, when standing on the pegs, I thought the bar was the right height.”

Light makes right, right? The R is the more dirtable model of KTM’s two 1190 Adventure bikes. Not as powerful as the Ducati but weighing significantly less gives the KTM impressive thrust on the street while being far more manageable when off it.

Already a ringer for best dirtbike in the group, KTM’s Adventure R comes outfitted with knobby, Continental TKC-80 tires. Providing more grip and stability in the dirt than any other tire in the group, the knobby tires moved around like bags of jello on the pavement. Slower corner speeds were redressed with aggressive corner exiting throttle application, squirting the KTM out of bends and keeping it nipping at the rear wheels of bikes with more streetable tires. The other downside to the soft and grippy TKC-80s is that they burn up quickly when ridden on the pavement.

“The choice of knobbies on the KTM ruined the street portion of the ride for me,” complains Brasfield. “The tire squirm kept me from trusting the bike when leaned over on pavement. Though the knobbies worked great in the dirt, they didn’t wear well and were nearly toast by the time our test was finished.”

At 565 pounds, the KTM 1190 weighs a mere 20 wet pounds more than the 1000cc Honda Africa Twin but outputs substantially more power. The KTM’s brakes are well-suited to both street and dirt riding, with a more powerful feel than the Honda while not sacrificing much in the way of modulation.

Burnsie wasn’t as affected by the knobbies as he was with the bike’s height, but he’s also much shorter than Brasfield. “On pavement, those knobbies feel pretty sketchy until you get used to them, and then they still feel sketchy. It’s fun to ride on the street anyway, thanks to the motor. Tiptoe in and just whack the throttle at exit and it closes the gap on all the other bikes, using its TC to keep the rear knobby marginally in traction.”

As for the two Japanese bikes, besides sharing parallel-Twin engine architecture, they couldn’t be farther apart from one another. Honda’s Africa Twin makes do with only switchable TC and ABS, while Yamaha’s Super Ténéré ES features those technologies plus cruise control, EAS, ride modes, tire-pressure monitor, and an adjustable windscreen. For these electronic upgrades and a 201cc increase in engine capacity, expect to fork over an additional $3,674.

Honda’s new Africa Twin won our Best On-Off-Road/Adventure Motorcycle of 2016 by virtue of its light weight, affordable price and ultra-friendly riding dynamics. It’s so amazingly well-rounded it could be the only bike in your garage. Alexander, a longtime devotee of Kawasaki’s Versys, says the Honda might just replace the Kawi as his favorite all-around motorcycle.

What was largely determined between the two Asian bikes is that while the Honda excels in both on- and off-road capacities, the Yamaha makes for a better street bike than it does off-roader.

“The Super Ten would make a good candidate for a cross-country tourer, as it’s wonderfully comfortable, never needs a chain oiled or adjusted, and it has a huge dealer network nationwide, not that it’ll probably ever need much mechanical attention,” says Duke.

Tragedy would strike our Yamaha Super Ténéré prior to our photo/video session leaving few images of the Ténéré in-action. We still flogged it on the street ride, and most of the dirt portion, surprising no one with its preference for paved roads over dirt ones.

On paper the Honda fails to impress, but as every rider in our group found out after throwing a leg over the Africa Twin, the bike simply works and works well. It’s not the most powerful or otherwise standout bike here in any category, it just quietly (not really, it’s one of the best sounding Hondas in a long time, barking out an appealing V-Twin-like note from its 270-degree crank arrangement) goes about the task at hand.

“Feels far and away the most natural as soon as you sit on it…. then keeps feeling the most natural,” says Alexander. “The Africa Twin has ‘motorcycle’ blood and can’t help but to feel and act exactly like you expect a motorcycle to feel and act. I absolutely love it.”

Even with 198cc more displacement, Honda’s parallel-Twin loses out to Triumph’s Triple by a couple horsepower 85.7 hp at 7,600 rpm vs. 87.5 hp at 9,200 rpm. The AT makes up for it in the torque department: 67.0 lb-ft at 5,900 rpm vs. 52.9 lb.-ft. at 7,700 rpm.

So, if your adventure-bike riding is 90% or more a paved experience, each bike here boasts certain qualities you might find attractive depending on your needs. The three heavier, electronically laden vessels – BMW, Ducati, Yamaha – make for great long-distance tourers, while the two lighter, less electronically burdened bikes – KTM and Honda – provide better short-distance machines, with the Triumph falling somewhere in the middle.

And with that, we end our first day street portion of the test with arrival at Pineknot campground. Due to fire restrictions – not even a charcoal fire was allowed, thus hindering our ability to BBQ anything – we chose a location close to the town of Big Bear so we could enjoy a wholesome dinner without having to ride 20 miles into the wilderness afterward. This decision worked to our favor even more the following night.

Day 2

For the off-road portion of our trip, I reached out to Miguel Burgi of the Big Bear Trail Riders Motorcycle Club. Miguel supplied me with a couple of GPS files containing two loops surrounding the Big Bear Lake area. I loaded them into the BMW’s Garmin and figured the adventure portion of our test was covered. Following an early morning rise and a large breakfast, we were underway with the GPS leading us directly to our transition from paved to dirt road. So many miles thereafter, I’m not sure how many, it became apparent we took a wrong turn, or three, at which time we didn’t know what lay ahead, but we sure as hell weren’t turning around and going back. Adventure was upon us.

Although undeniably top-heavy, most testers were impressed with the Multi’s off-road capabilities. In “Enduro” mode its big-horsepower engine proved to be very user-friendly, tractoring some testers up inclines they might otherwise shy away from. The Pirelli Scorpion knobbies seem like a better compromise of street and dirt than the KTM’s dirt-focused TKC-80s.

Ducati must have known something we didn’t when they insisted we take a Multistrada Enduro outfitted with Enduro Pack accoutrements. It’s not often we professional testers drop a $24k-bike, but on this occasion it was more than once, and on both sides. The good thing is, besides the plastic handguards (see JB’s Top 10 Disaster Preventives When Adventure Riding) the Multi survived largely unscathed. The bad thing is, most all of these incidents were mere tip-overs – the Duc carries its weight high, so once it starts leaning, it’s hard to stop.

“On the trail the Ducati felt tall at just the wrong times,” says Burns. “I laid it down gently the first time when I put my right foot down to stop in some soft forest duff, and not even a scratch. The second time I laid it down gently also, when my right leg just couldn’t support it at a stop at the top of a rocky trail, and broke the right plastic handguard. (The left plastic handguard I’d already broken when I sideswiped a tree branch that was in my way.) Aside from the handguards, the rest of the bike came through all that unscuffed.”

Besides the plastic handguards, the expensive Duc proved to be quite crash-resilient. “Specs say the tank holds 7.9 gallons, and I think filling it up halfway and leaving 24 up-high pounds in the pump might be the way to go for shorter dirt jaunts,” imparts Burns. The brake master cylinder and hydraulic clutch fluid reservoirs are (normally) both attached to their respective handguards.

Top-heavy or not, though, the Multistrada Enduro proved to be a formidable off-roader. “Being a big, heavy motorcycle with a mega motor and expensive looking bodywork means the Multistrada Enduro should be a terrible off-road bike,” says Alexander. “It isn’t.”

Even our dirt-riding-ringer Rousseau was impressed with the Multi’s off-road performance. “I was blown away by the Duc’s Testastretta L-Twin. I would never have believed that an engine designed primarily for road use can be so capable in the dirt. Switching to Enduro mode backs the output down by 60 horsepower and makes the Multistrada smooth and silky, but it still delivers plenty of grunt and excellent response at any rpm. I was especially impressed by the traction-control system which helps it crawl up hills like a C1 Ariete tank. What an awesome powerplant!”

“When it came to suspension performance,” says Rousseau, “the Ducati was again a surprise. At one point I inadvertently ran smack dab through a few Hare & Hound-style sand whoops while moving at a decent clip during our short desert hop through Lucerne Valley. The suspension competently soaked up hits that might otherwise have resulted in the mother of all yard sales. Later, I took the time to change my shorts…”

As good as the Duc’s engine is, the whole package failed to impress everyone. “The Multistrada is one of my all-time favorite bikes,” says Duke, “But, for me, the Multi Enduro misses the mark. I disliked how big and heavy it felt off-road, and it doesn’t handle on the road as predictably and fluidly as the regular Multi.”

Even for my 5-foot-11 frame, which can touch the ground when sitting atop the Ducati, it’s top-heaviness got the better of me at a standstill when my foot slipped on a rock and the bike tipped over. The Ducati being nearly the same weight as the BMW, I felt more in control of the GS due to its lower center of gravity, especially when navigating it through a slower technical section or down a rocky decline. And I wasn’t alone in this assessment.

Given the same tires as the Ducati, the BMW would probably hang with the more powerful, equally heavy, but more top-heavy Ducati. Our GS included the BMW dongle that allows for Enduro Pro mode, which made all of us better riders in the dirt.

“Handling is stable and steady, and more than acceptable, although a tad cumbersome on the trail due to the overall weight of the package,” says Rousseau about the GS. “Its saving grace is the low CoG that the Boxer engine brings to the party. Despite its considerable size and weight, it doesn’t feel top heavy.”

To which Brasfield adds, “The engine has the grunt to make ultra-low speed maneuvers a breeze on the GS. Even when just pushing the bike around in the dirt to take photos, I used the torque and nursed the clutch in the friction zone.”

“The Boxer motor oozes low-rpm torque and is extremely tractable,” says Rousseau. “Throttle response is clean. You don’t need to rev the GS to get where you’re going; just pick any gear and the engine pretty much takes up the slack. It is extremely easy to ride fast or slow.” Note the scratches on the engine guards. MO tested, MO approved!

Although Alexander’s in denial about the KTM being the best dirtbike of the bunch, it most certainly is. Third heaviest of the group – only 20 pounds more than the Honda – the tall, comparably thin KTM relies on the company’s history of off-roading prowess to deliver an exceptionally dirt-oriented adventure bike. If I lived in an area such as Big Bear with off-roading nirvana only a short paved-road-ride away, the KTM is the obvious choice (or maybe the Honda).

“The 1190 R would be my first choice if riding dirt trails were a priority and I needed to get there in a hurry,” Duke raved. “I’m still amazed at the single-track dirtbike trails I was able to ride the KTM on at its launch in Colorado, and it again proved its mettle in the silty crap we rode on this time out.”

What was hard on some of the heavier, less dirtable bikes was easy on the KTM. The tires helped, no doubt, but it’s the weight of the KTM (565 pounds) that really makes a difference – the BMW, Duc and Yamaha are all in excess of 600 pounds, and that’s a lot weight to have off-road on two wheels by anyone’s standards.

And Rousseau adds his stamp of dirt-worthy approval. “In the dirt the KTM was almost without equal for me, delivering an arrow-stable feel at high speeds while cornering with precision. The KTM didn’t steer as lightly as the Honda when plonking along in first or second gear, but it also didn’t feel as top-heavy as the other bikes in this group.”

Although lacking the electronically adjustable suspension of its non-R stablemate, the 1190 Adventure’s WP suspenders, with easy-to-reach clickers on the top of the fork legs, didn’t fail to impress. The fork and shock can suck up bumps, rocks, roots and whatever else you throw at it. Even Alexander admitted enjoying the KTM in the dirt. “The KTM felt a bit odd to me ergonomically at first, but I have to admit that it becomes much more natural feeling when ridden very fast off-road.”

KTM’s instrument cluster is simple, and accessing the various electronic settings are straight-forward once you’ve done it a few times. The “Favorites” can be manipulated to display whatever information is pertinent to your situation.

We’ll let Burnsie point out the obvious. “Adding an “R” onto 1190 Adventure was a bad idea in my book, because it caused the seat to rise from 860 to 890mm. I can barely ride this one on pavement, much less off-road. Actually it’s not the riding at all, it’s the stopping and starting. Once it’s rolling, it’s a magic carpet if you’re a decent off-road rider.”

Close behind the KTM almost everywhere off-road is the Africa Twin. Suffering a huge power deficit to the KTM never stopped the Honda from keeping pace, although the more street-biased tires it’s outfitted with certainly did. Honda may be late to the current adventure-bike party, but it was worth the wait. It is equally as comfortable in the dirt as it is on pavement.

For the money Honda’s asking for the Africa Twin, you just can’t go wrong. Whether you’re a dirt guy or street guy, the Honda handles both equally. ABS and TC are switchable (although TC always reverts to level 3 when the bike is switched off), and that’s about it for electronics. It’s windscreen, unlike the others, isn’t adjustable for height.

“The Africa Twin handles like a dream, and I’m convinced that if it had been fitted with more knobby tires of similar quality to the Continental TKC-80s on the KTM or the Pirellis on the Ducati, the Honda would have thoroughly dominated the dirt portions of our ride,” says Rousseau.

“The Africa Twin’s suspension was my favorite of the group, and it should feel the most familiar to the majority of dirtbike riders – plush yet controlled,” Rousseau continues. “And while the rest of the bikes here force the rider to consult owner’s manuals and/or have a degree in computer science in order to make adjustments, the Honda’s screwdriver slots on the top and bottom of the fork and manual preload adjuster on the shock allow easy suspension tuning.”

Duke had high praise for the overall capabilities of the Africa Twin: “It’s the inverse of the complicated and heavy GS – it’s lacking features but not capabilities, and it’s almost 50% cheaper. It’s a stunning achievement for the money.”

Says Rousseau: “I can understand how some of the more street-savvy guys in our group might think that the Honda’s brakes feel as if they lack power on the street, but I never had an issue with them, and they were the best of the lot whenever we hit the trails. The Africa Twin delivers the quintessential dirtbike braking feel, with lots of modulation to help prevent wheel lockup. Simply put, they’re awesome.”

Probably the biggest detriment to the Honda are its saddlebags, which use nylon tabs to slot into their mounts. They were put to the test when an unexpected sandwash jerked the AT’s handlebar sideways and launched the bike off the trail. Even though I was able to reattach the right bag with a busted front mount and continue, there’s no dressing up the luggage – not even the chrome latches.

“For $13k, it’s a ton of ADV bike, but what you don’t get and I’d miss terribly is cruise control,” says Burns. “The bag mounts are kind of Fisher-Price too, but it looks like you can replace the broken mount instead of the entire bag.”

Not as nice or as rugged as the hard luggage attached to the other bikes, the Honda’s bags deserve some props for their continuing endurance after the right one was ripped from its mounts following my Evel Knievel impression. Check out those snazzy chrome latches!

As delivered, the Yamaha Super Ténéré lacked a real skidplate which would eventually hobble the Ténéré when Alexander rode it down a rocky descent, catching the drain plug on a stone ledge in the process. The Ténéré did its best Deepwater Horizon impression when it stopped at the bottom of the hill, puking oil from the newly formed gouge in its oil pan. It’s our fault, really, not just for causing the incident but for not specifying that the stock nylon skidplate be replaced with the 3mm-thick, aluminum skidplate available from the Ténéré’s accessory catalog.

For riders who intend to get aggressive in off-road situations, Yamaha’s accessory department has got the S10 covered, including a beefy aluminum skidplate ($220.95) and steel engine guards powder-coated black ($488.95). Additional sump protection is available via a World Crosser skidplate extension ($289.99), but it can’t be used if the engine guards are fitted. Also from the World Crosser line are aluminum guards for the driveshaft ($274.99) and rear brake ($184.99).

Prior to its ultimate demise, Brasfield enjoyed both riding and crashing the Ténéré. “I’m bummed that I didn’t get more time on the Ténéré in the dirt,” he says. “When ridden off-road, I set the ride mode to Tour to soften the throttle inputs. I also turned off TC since it tended to cut the throttle more than I liked when the rear wheel spun on softer surfaces. Also, the Tenere crashes pretty well. On one steep downhill, I clipped a large rock with my front wheel, sending the Ténéré into a wobble. I overcorrected and ended up careening into the brush. Not only did the Ténéré’s hand guard withstand the impact, but the remainder of the bike also showed no real damage – not even scratches. The bags stayed in place, too.”

Always the perfectionist, Alexander popped two holes in the Yamaha’s oil pan just in case the first one wasn’t bad enough.

Like the Ducati, however, the Ténéré is a top-heavy motorcycle. Although its suspension seemed well-configured for riding either on- or off-road, it’s parallel-Twin engine isn’t much more impressive than Honda’s mill.

“For an engine that displaces 1199cc, I expected the Super Ténéré’s inline-Twin to be a little more ballsy off the bottom” says Rousseau, “but its power appears to be concentrated more in the midrange, which was excellent for highway riding but not so great when I needed to get it to respond at low rpm in order to clear obstacles on the trail. The Yamaha engine is clearly aimed more toward pounding the pavement than slogging through the dirt.”

Late night, camp-side emergency Ténéré repair was fueled by pizza, beer, scotch and Camels. The next morning our repair efforts proved insufficient (so they ditched the bike and had me rescue it. Meaning I got to sample the beautiful roads near Big Bear… in my truck -TS). We’re blaming the beer and scotch.

Late night, camp-side emergency Ténéré repair was fueled by pizza, beer, scotch and Camels. The next morning our repair efforts proved insufficient (so they ditched the bike and had me rescue it. Meaning I got to sample the beautiful roads near Big Bear… in my truck -TS). We’re blaming the beer and scotch.

Which brings us, finally, to the Triumph. As mentioned earlier, the testers enjoyed spinning its three-cylinder engine through paved twisties, but were less fond of the bike’s lack of bottom-end grunt when riding in the dirt. It’s easy to see why a twin-cylinder arrangement is the engine configuration of choice among ADV bikes.

“I had the least fun on the XCx whenever we ventured off-road,” says Rousseau.

But Duke, fresh off a broken hip, was kinder to the Tiger. “In this group of big rigs, the Tiger feels especially lithe. I was happy to be aboard it while navigating some of the more technical off-road sections we traversed. In the dirt, it’s held back only by an engine that revs too quickly and a clutch with a narrow engagement zone.”

The Tiger and the KTM never once went horizontal when all the other bikes were taking occasional dirt samples. The Tiger and KTM are two of the lightest bikes in the group. Correlation?

Helping the Tiger in off-road situations, though, is the amazingly well-thought-out combination of preset parameters in its Off-Road riding mode. A simple button push on the left front of the instrument cluster switched the Tiger from Road to Off-Road mode, effectively changing the power delivery, TC and ABS settings to better suit unpaved conditions. And, if you’re not happy with the factory settings you can modify them in Rider mode, personalizing them to your preferences, which is then also selectable via the same instrument cluster button.

“The off-road ride mode worked well, though the narrow clutch engagement late in the lever travel meant that the Triumph was easier to stall in the slow, tight, rocky stuff than the other bikes,” says Brasfield.

Although unable to get hard luggage mounted prior to our trip, we did take time to inspect the bags post-ride. The silver aluminum bags and mounting hardware add $1,250 to the Tiger’s price tag, but are attractive, rugged and hold 19.6 gallons.

The Tiger’s seating position is somewhat more road biased with its handlebars positioned lower than other off-road adventurers, forcing a rider to lean over a tad further when standing on the pegs. Taller riders never complained of discomfort, and shorter riders welcomed its relatively low seat height adjustable from 33.0 to 33.8-inches.

For anyone entertaining the thought of longer-distance traveling, the Triumph’s cruise control is almost worth the price of admission alone. The set-it-and-forget-it option for long stretches of straight lines can’t be beat, a feature also available on the BMW, Ducati, and Yamaha.

“This is cruise control the way it should be: click only the set button to engage it, with no silly on/off switch,” says Duke. The Tiger is also blessed with the only self-cancelling turnsignals of the group, which are cool once you get lazy enough to let them do their job.

Hover over for a list of each bike’s features

Features

Full color instrument cluster

Gear Position Indicator

Heated Grips

Hillstart control

Power accessory socket

Cornering lights

Backlit handlebar switches

ABS

Cornering ABS

Tubeless

Tire pressure monitor

Electronic suspension adjustability

Semi-active suspension

Smartphone app

Ride modes

Cruise control

Traction control

Centerstand

Crashbars

Adjustable Windscreen

GPS Preparation

Keyless Ride

Led Auxiliary Lights

Quickshifter

Post Adventure

After dispatching Troy to transport our injured Super Ténéré back to Yamaha headquarters, we continued about our business of riding and photo/video production. In Lucerne Valley we stumble across the post-apocalyptic remains of a Breaking Bad motorhome – the perfect backdrop to our adventurous adventure seen in this article’s video.

Once we did return home and showered the stink off, we set to the task of tallying scores and comparing notes. This is when the disparity among the variety of machines gets interesting again, for we basically have three different winners.

Objective Scoring

BMW R1200GS Adventure

76.93%

Ducati Multistrada Enduro

80.13%

Honda Africa Twin

94.54%

KTM 1190 Adventure R

91.83%

Triumph Tiger 800XCx

90.05%

Yamaha Super Ténéré

83.95%

Winning the Objective category of the Scorecard by virtue of its low price and weight, the Africa Twin managed to defeat the more powerful KTM by 2.5%, while the weight and price of the BMW and Ducati had them languishing in last (especially the relatively expensive but underpowered BMW).

Subjective Scoring

BMW R1200GS Adventure

90.16%

Ducati Multistrada Enduro

89.71%

Honda Africa Twin

85.26%

KTM 1190 Adventure R

89.23%

Triumph Tiger 800XCx

80.48%

Yamaha Super Ténéré

84.62%

Moving on to the Subjective scoring we find a very tight race between the BMW, Ducati and KTM, finishing in that order with the OG measuring stick fending off the newcomer Ducati by a scant 0.45%. Three editors chose the BMW, one tied the BMW with the Duc, one chose the Duc, while a one lone editor picked the KTM first (that, of course, was guest-tester dirt guy Rousseau).

Overall Scores

BMW R1200GS Adventure

87.68%

Ducati Multistrada Enduro

87.92%

Honda Africa Twin

87.00%

KTM 1190 Adventure R

89.72%

Triumph Tiger 800XCx

82.27%

Yamaha Super Ténéré

84.49%

Surprisingly, when all the scores were combined together, it was the dirtable KTM 1190 Adventure R claiming the overall win by a 2% margin over the close-scoring Ducati, BMW, and Africa Twin, finishing in that order. Had we stayed on our designated dirt route, or if the Honda or BMW had tires similar to those mounted on the Ducati, maybe the finishing order would have been different.

Two contributing factors to a bike’s dirt-appropriateness are its wheel sizes and the presence of rugged wire-spoke wheels. Of the 11 bikes in this spec sheet, seven run a 19-inch front, 17-inch rear wheel combo, two a 21-inch front, 18-inch rear combo and two a 21/17 combo. The 17-inch front/rear combo and cast aluminum wheels the Multistrada 1200S, Versys 1000 LT and S1000XR wear have disqualified them from this shootout. Almost all the bikes here have spoke wheels, but for some reason – or rather a mistake on Suzuki’s part – the Adventure version of the V-Strom 1000 is outfitted with cast aluminum wheels instead of spokes. However, it’s wheel sizes are 19/17, and because the Strom so closely matches the Africa Twin in price, weight, and horsepower, we’re gonna look the other way and include it here. It should be noted that getting the class icon, BMW’s R1200GS, outfitted with spokes is a $500 upgrade in addition to the bike’s $1,500 “Standard” package (accounted for in the spec sheet’s pricing).

Triumph has diversified its Tiger Explorer lineup, following the pattern established by its smaller Tiger 800 siblings. Triumph hasn’t released a complete spec sheet for the new Explorers, but we’ve extrapolated what information is available and presented it here.

The two 800s (BMW F800GS and Triumph Tiger 800XC) and the Strom are certainly outgunned by the likes of Ducati’s and KTM’s 160-horsepower monsters (Multistrada Enduro, Super Adventure) but are closest to the relatively underpowered Africa Twin in terms of horsepower, weight and price. Since the Honda’s introduction of the Africa Twin, there’s been grumblings from some enthusiasts about how it compares to KTM’s 1190 Adventure R. What’s obvious in the spec sheet is the KTM splits the claimed curb weight of the two Honda models, but produces considerably more horsepower and torque. We’re going to go out on a limb here and say that, when we get around to riding these two bikes, the KTM will leave the Honda in its proverbial dust. The real question will be, is the KTM worth paying an extra $4000, or $3300 compared to the DCT Africa Twin?

The follow-up questions are, how does the DCT version of the Africa Twin measure up against all the non-DCT models? Is DCT a better technology to have compared to the technologies some of the other bikes boast, such as cruise control or electronic suspension? Traditionalists are going to ask if DCT is even a technology worth developing. These questions and many more are unanswerable by looking at a spec sheet, but ones we’ll certainly consider when it comes time for riding impressions in our 2016 Adventure Bike Shootout.

What a spec sheet encompassing this many models is really good for is cross-referencing claimed performance and available technologies. It’s easy to see how a $12,500 Tiger 800XC with a respectable assortment of technologies progresses into a $21,295 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro with nearly every technology known to motorcycling. There are also some easter eggs in there when you look hard enough, such as the two most powerful bikes here – the 160-horsepower Multi and SA – sharing the same power-to-weight ratios with the less powerful but equally less heavy 1190 Adventure R (3.5 lbs/hp, 5.6 lbs/lb-ft).

At $21,295, the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro is the most expensive ADV bike on this list. It’s also the most technologically laden model here and just about anywhere.

Also apparent are the three shaft-driven bikes, the four bikes that come equipped with centerstands, and that the Aprilia Caponord and Super Adventure are the only bikes on which saddlebags and crashbars aren’t expensive options (the Explorer XCx also comes equipped with crashbars). For those with specific needs, such as visiting remote places or riding long distances, knowing that the Multi and SA are the only two bikes with 7.9 gallons of fuel is useful. Riders who dislike bikes with weight problems will certainly notice the Capo’s 604-pound claimed curb weight (keep in mind, that weight includes saddlebags and crashbars).

To keep things fair – because we have yet to weigh and dyno each new model – we used the manufacturer’s claimed weight and power figures, which were, in turn, used to determine power-to-weight ratios. Obviously, this data will change at a future date when the bikes are in our possession to conduct honest rear-wheel dyno measurements and a weigh-in on MO’s expensive scales. Until then, use this spec sheet to draw some of your own conclusions on how these bikes measure against one another.

If a bike’s ability to navigate a hollow tree is important to you, let us know.

As we enter the planning phase of this important shootout, we’d appreciate getting your feedback on what you’d like to see in it. Which bikes are the ones you’d like to see compared to one another? Is there a particular type of testing that’s of greater importance? There’s plenty of time for you to help us fashion a better shootout, so let us know your thoughts, ideas and opinions. We’re listening.

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2016-adventure-bikes-spec-for-spec/feed101more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/kulture-klash-bmw-r1200r-vs-ducati-monster-1200s
http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/kulture-klash-bmw-r1200r-vs-ducati-monster-1200s#commentsThu, 01 Oct 2015 01:46:00 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?post_type=shoot-outs&p=29800Kulture Klash: BMW R1200R vs. Ducati Monster 1200SThe Ducati Monster 1200S didn’t do so great against most of the other more]]>The Ducati Monster 1200S didn’t do so great against most of the other players in last year’s Super Naked Street Brawl, but mostly because two of the other four were our Motorcycle of the Year KTM Super Duke R and the BMW S1000R, which came within a whisker of overcoming the incredible SDR. The Monster suffered more in the track portion of that test than on the street, though, mainly let down by a lack of ground clearance when leaned into Chuckwalla’s endless high speed turns – a non-issue on the road. Back on the street, il Mostro was a highly pleasant thing to ride – as nearly all motorcycles are that deliver 84 pound-feet of torque. The 132 horses up top are like having your burrito wet.

Yeah, well, the Super Duke R made 96 pound-feet and 156 hp. So we decided the Monster S is less of a streetfighter and more of a hot-rod roadster, and therefore the perfect excuse for T. Roderick and yours truly to compare it to BMW’s new R1200R, an awesome do-it-all “big Twin” motorcycle we’ve been looking for an excuse to spend more time upon. All we need now is a hook to hang this thing on! A theme! How about Germany vs Italy!? Why not, since it’s the most obvious? Tubular meats vs. fine red wines! It was on like WWII, with the exception that Germany and Italy were allies in that affair, up to a point.

EiC Duke tasked us with coming up with a couple of waypoints to honor the respective engineering heritages of the two storied brands without breaking the MO bank by leaving SoCal: As always, we rose to the occasion. And then some…

Storied German heritage in LA? No problem: The Weinerschnitzel on PCH in Wilmington is the very first one, dating all the way back to the mid-20th century (1961). As you can see, this one adheres to the classic Boxer engine architecture, with its drive-thru bisecting the two horizontally-opposed halves of the structure. Coincidence? There are no coincidences in Deutschland, mein Herr. Tom went with the grilled bratwurst; Evans and I with the bacon chili cheese dog. Sadly, this Oktoberfest is beer-free. Just as well, as we have a long day’s ride ahead of us…

What started out as a perfectly legit excuse to go for a nice day’s ride turned into a better “comparison” than we expected, really, the Ducati Monster 1200 S proving itself quite a bit less monstrous when in more refined company. And with the the addition of BMW’s new liquid-cooled Boxer motor, the new R1200R’s sporty factor is greatly increased – the two bikes meeting somewhere in the Alps.

Other tubular-meat German heritage sites in LA include Torrance’s Alpine Village, which puts on its own Oktoberfest every year. Very authentic…

… or is it? Willkommen to SoCal!

The Beatles did play a lot in Hamburg when they were getting started, so why not?

As a matter of fact, bombing around L.A., the Monster is a ridiculously sweet ride. Our “S” doesn’t have electronic suspension, but it does have fully adjustable Öhlins pieces at both ends, with nearly six inches of rear-wheel travel (5.1 in. in front). You can soften up compression and rebound out back with your hands (you need a 3mm hex to diddle the fork), and make it the plushest Monster ever. The seat is really quite cush also, the ergos not quite so upright as the BMW’s but close – and the thing makes just about enough racket to save your life without being obnoxious. Duke reckons its popping on overrun is “the most deliciously wicked cackle I’ve heard from a production exhaust.” There’s also a reasonably good passenger seat under the plastic cover. The one annoying thing about the Monster in town is its monstrous turning radius.

Thumb it over to Touring mode, and my only other complaint is that the Monster’s too powerful. What? After we’d adjusted to the Desmodromic Variable Timing in the new Multistrada we rode last month, which greatly broadens this engine’s powerband, the Monster’s 11-degree Testastretta without it suddenly feels a little peaky. The big Twin hunts and pecks a bit till the tach on the hard-to-read TFT display gets past about 3000 rpm, then takes off like Usain Bolt! Maybe I’m getting old, but it feels like the Monster wants to wheelie over backwards any time you open the throttle more than about halfway in any of the lower three gears. It’s a $16,000 motorcycle; I think it would be just as swell with about $12k worth of power.

Really, the Monster just wants to be off its leash. “The Duc incessantly pleads to be wrung out. Switching the engine mode from Sport to Touring helps, but the Monster still compels you to ride faster,” says TR. Luckily, the rest of the bike is up for it, with that excellent suspension, quickish reflexes and state-of-the-art brakes with ABS, of course.

Meanwhile, the BMW is right on the Monster’s tail. It’s nowhere near matching the Monster’s peak horsepower, but it more than matches both its hp and torque below 6000 rpm – which happily happens to be where big-inch tachometer needles live most of their lives on the street (not that either bike has one). The BMW spots the Ducati a 61-pound weight advantage, but doesn’t seem to suffer from it thanks to its really impressive lunge: While the Monster’s spritzing its vocal cords and clearing its 53mm throats at 3000 rpm, the BMW’s been making over 60 pound-feet of torque since 2000 rpm.

It’s a linear, flat, easily-modulated plateau of torque, too, made all the more useable safe in the knowledge that the R’s traction control is on the job exiting greasy drive-thrus and intersections. Simply thwap it open; the big BMW’s phwooOOART! is almost as much fun as the Ducati’s higher-pitched snarl.

There’s really not much in it at all up till past 7000 rpm. On a racetrack, the Ducati might make short work of the BMW (both have plenty of ground clearance for road use). On the street, it’s usually neck and neck.

But enough of this gritty industrial overpopulated seaport angst-ridden sausage-fest already! I think the real reason we brought the Ducati out was because we’ve been looking for a reason to visit Doffo Winery, over the coastal mountains down south of L.A. in Temecula, California. And never mind Marcelo Doffo is Argentinian. His people were from Italy, and his son Damian, who mostly runs the place now, is a big motorhead who races a KTM RC 390 Cup with AHRMA.

I’d dialed out most of the compression and rebound damping from the Duc’s shock, and it handled the 30-mile stretch of I-5 in complete comfort, the 80-mph breeze spilling unmolested over its nose perfect for relieving the small amount of pressure it puts on the wrists, the big V-Twin loping perfectly smoothly along at 5000-or-so rpm, God bless the 90-degree Twin. Quite rakish.

Riding positions on both bikes are ideal for urban use (TR on the BMW is a few inches longer than me), and nearly interchangeable; the BMW is a tiny bit more upright with a bit more legroom, and serves up 5.5 inches of delicious ESA-controlled compliance at each end, nearly on par with the Ducati’s Öhlins pieces. Wheelbases are nearly identical; the BMW steers a smidge slower, with 4.9-in. trail to the Monster’s 3.7 inches – all BMW’s boxers characterized by train-like stability. Part of the BMW’s extra weight is centerstand and luggage mounts.

Right alongside it, the R1200R rider is experiencing the same crisp climate-change fall day in the 90s as he swoops effortlessly along. Thumb ESA from Dynamic to Road (there’s no Touring), turn on the cruise control and set it easily with your left thumb, and it’s hard to see how life could get much better if you’re a person who likes to ride smooth, comfortable, powerful motorcycles. Our optional Touring Screen is a bit tall for my liking, but BMW offers a shorter Sport one too: also same-key saddlebags and a top box, four different seats, a GPS with optional Garmin Smartphone Link for congestion information in real time, up-to-the-minute weather forecasts, etc., etc. With our test unit’s Comfort Package (heated grips, chrome exhaust pipe and tire pressure monitors) and Touring Package (electronic suspension, cruise control, centerstand, luggage mounts, etc.), along with the keyless ride fob, and Gear Shift Assistant Pro, you’re looking at $17,490 – about $1500 more than the Ducati. If you have to ask…

You’re also looking at a bike you could actually set out for Kathmandu upon (after you pay another however many hundreds for the bags), a thing few would want to do on the Monster.

If we’d remembered to stop and stiffen up the Monster’s shock before hopping on the mountain road over to Temecula it would’ve been a little tail-up happier, but it’s still an excellent thing to ride on the fast, flowing Ortega Highway on a light-traffic morning. You’re pulled a bit lower over its front wheel than on the BMW. The faster the curves become, the more you can feel its weight advantage over the Beemer, and the more it feels like it might steer a little more accurately with a 180-series tire on back, like the BMW has, instead of the 190mm wide Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Ducati gives it.

On the BMW, there’s no need to stop for anything: Swap Road for Dynamic damping on the fly and again, the Ducati’s not getting away. If anything, the BMW feels a little more planted and accurate in the corners on its Metzelers, with the calming influence of that big longitudinal crankshaft keeping its hand on the rudder. It’s an easy bike to ride quickly.

Ducati Monster 1200S

+ Highs

La Scala on Pirellis

Who knew a Monster would ever be this comfy?

Easy to change coolant hoses since they hang out all over the place

– Sighs

TFT display is invisible half the time when the sun’s out

A bit lacking in creature comforts for $16k

Not nearly as docile as the BMW in town

Out there at Doffo in the wine country, what can we tell you? The living is easy. Actually we’re told winemaking is a hard, agricultural business, but given the setting – grapevines as far as the eye can see and tons of elbow room for all, great roads all over and not so many people or cars – it’s hard to believe life could be anything but a breeze. It could be Tuscany (not that I’ve ever been). With a little room to spread out, plenty of nice covered parking, great curvy roads right outside your door and yes, the need to perform a little self-promotion – we’re in Monster country. So what if Ducati doesn’t offer luggage for it or cruise control? Take the pickup to town if you need something that won’t fit in your Gucci backpack.

When I told Damian Doffo I liked the BMW better because you could ride it to San Francisco, he said, “But why would you?” Good point. The winemaker’s current ride is a KTM RC390 Cup.

BMW R1200R

+ Highs

ESA is wunderbar

Truly a Standard to do everything including cross-country

Do all maintenance your damn self

– Sighs

Numbers on the LCD panel are too tight-packed, hard to read

Doesn’t make you suffer at all, no possibility for atonement

Could be the last bike you’ll ever buy

Luckily, we don’t know much about wine other than we like it. Sadly, since we were riding and working, we barely got the chance to taste anything and had to spit when we did… but we were impressed. Try the Mistura, Doffo’s own excellent red blend, if you make it out that way. Which you should. Temecula’s turning into its own little Napa Valley. Damian pointed us to a couple of excellent roads we’d never heard of just a few miles away. And so we rode…

When push really does come to shove, you probably want the lighter, more powerful Ducati. I’d take this one over a Panigale any day. You?

But even on the tight, twisty little backroads Damian Doffo pointed us to, the stoic German bike still seemed to have no problem keeping right up with the extroverted Italian one – the Ducati might gap the BMW a tad if there’s a straight, but the BMW’s excellent balance lets it close back up on the brakes, and its superior low-rpm torque has it right up the Duc’s tailpipe after the next corner. You’d have to ride faster than TR and myself on the street to exploit the Ducati’s horsepower advantage, and that would be unadvisable.

At the end of the day and the bottom of the famed MO ScoreCard, there’s almost nothing in it. The Monster wins on the strength of its Objective Score, since it’s a bit cheaper than the BMW, lighter and more powerful. Our ScoreCard, however, doesn’t account for the fact that the BMW’s greater weight and price consists of more stuff, including electronic suspension, cruise control, centerstand, autoshifter, mounts already in place for luggage…

Subjectively, Tom picked the Monster because he’s younger, easily impressionable, attracted to shiny objects and needs to keep hot-mama Maria amused. As for me, I’m older, more practical, may never again see a female interior, and therefore am all over the Boxer. One word: cruisecontrol. Okay, two: Heated grips. TR even agrees with me: “With a more comfortable seating position, nicely padded seat and cruise control the BMW is the better all-around motorcycle. Outfitted with shaft drive and a centerstand it’s also the more practical choice.”

Once again it all makes perfect sense: If you’re a bucks-up swarthy sort based in Paradise with progeny on your mind and another more practical bike or twenty in the warehouse, you need a Monster to maintain discipline. If you’re the more practical, pale, pasty and balding type, concerned with keeping your bloodline pure and trying to be motogamous (new word!), the R1200R is one amazing do-it-all machine.

Pommes frites may be a French word, but fried potatoes are all German far as I’m concerned. Spuntino’s in Temecula puts them on pizza, Germany and Italy bury the hatchet and everybody lives happily ever after.

On Day 2 of our little press junket to Ontario, the sun came out, the birds sang, and we rode the new 160-horsepower BMW S1000XR ’til hell wouldn’t have it anymore. Okay, fine, we rode only ’til cocktail hour. On Day 1, though, it rained all day, the mosquitoes made the air hum at every stop, the roads were treacherous and I was very glad to be on the new R1200RS instead.

If the new XR is a pair of stiletto-heeled red pumps, the new RS is way closer to being your favorite pair of trusted hiking boots. Both bikes now sport advanced electronics that make them nearly foolproof even in sloppy conditions, but for me anyway, there’s something about BMW’s classic Boxer Twin that’s as comforting and reassuring as a home-thawed meal. Maybe it’s because I remember being at the launch of the first oil-head R1100RS a mere 22 years ago.

No more Telelever. The need for a bigger radiator after the switch to liquid cooling provided the necessary excuse to switch to a conventional fork.

Though not without their faults (most of which have been cured now that the clutch has been moved to the front of the engine), these things have served us well over the millennia as tourers, sport-tourers and sportbikes, long before we dreamed BMW would ever build anything like the K1600 or S1000RR. The beloved Boxer is what will always pop into my brain when somebody says BMW. There are motorcycles you have a fling with for a couple years who then trade you in for a better rider. Then there are motorcycles you establish a trusting, long-term relationship with. This BMW is one of the latter. The flat-Twin Boxer engine on the new R1200RS is the same DOHC unit that already powers the R1200GS, R1200RT and the new R1200R. BMW claims 125 horsepower at 7750 rpm and 92 lb-ft of torque at 6500 rpm (which worked out to 108.7 rear-wheel hp at 7800 and 77.6 lb-ft at 6600 rpm on the 2015 R1200GS Adventure we dynoed here.) Compared to the engines on the GS, GS Adventure and RT, BMW says the RT should have a bit more low-rev torque thanks to a different airbox.

And with these bikes, it’s all about the torque. If the RS doesn’t have the 160-hp, 11,000-rpm top end of the XR, BMW says the 1170cc Twin at least makes 9 more lb-ft of torque, 92 lb-ft at 6500 rpm instead of the XR’s 83 at 9250. For some reason, the RS feels considerably more substantial at first sit than the XR (must be those two cylinders jutting out), but BMW says the RS is only 18 pounds heavier – 520 to 502. So even though the XR feels way sportier and more hyperactive, the reality is that the RS can probably match it step for step right up to a speed beyond which you should never ride on the public roads anyway. Maybe even down dirt roads, too, since the RS has almost as much suspension travel as the XR – 5.5 inches versus 5.9 at both ends (under a seat whose standard height is 0.8-inch lower, at 32.3 inches).

It’s called a Boxer, kids, because the pistons move in and out together, like a boxer jabbing his fists outward to warm up. On the road, it produces the reassuring drone of a trusty aircraft engine.

The new RT is very much like the new R1200R I got to sample last December (when it also rained), the most obvious difference being the addition of a half fairing. Early RS drawings looked a little top-heavy/buxom, but the final design looks really proportional to my eye, and nicely downplays the downdraft intake tracts of the new Boxer that are a little too prominent on the naked, R version.

The windshield’s in low here, but snaps up a few inches into a high position. Its design, and that of the fairing and its winglets, produce nice, smooth airflow in either position.

Instead of the naked bike’s handlebar, the RS gets a pair of clip-ons stuck into a tricky forged deal attached to the top clamp, and instead of the R’s sit-up-straight ergonomics, the RS pulls its rider an inch or two forward and lower into the cockpit, though the footpegs and delicious seat feel like they’re in the same place as before. Where the R is aimed slightly more at urban use, the RS is designed to also serve as an all-weather long-range sport-tourer, to cross over into R1200RT territory.

Originally, the R and RS were supposed to be the same bike, one faired and one not – but BMW can’t ever seem to take the easy route. Specs indicate the RS is 0.5 inch longer of wheelbase, with 0.4-inch less trail than the R, which should give it plenty of high-speed stability along with slightly quicker steering than the R if you’re a he-man willing to leverage its narrower handlebars. (All the manufacturers worry about your body becoming a high-speed source of instability on their naked bikes.) I can vouch for the stability of both of them at medium speeds anyway. Most Boxers feel like they could ghost ride the length of I-70 if you set the cruise control and jumped off.

The base version, which is slated to sell for $14,950, comes with BMW’s Automatic Stability Control, and Rain and Road modes. You’ll need to step up to the Standard package ($16,025) to get the heated grips and cruise control (where I could probably stop). If you want the Dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA), you’ll be signing a $17,770 check. It’s hard to say if the ESA is worth it on this bike, since nobody’s ever seen or ridden the non-ESA one (which is supposed to have a remote preload adjuster and rebound-adjustable shock out back). Shift Assist Pro is a thing I could easily do without on a bike like this one; it’s kind of jerky at low rpm, and low- and mid-rpm is where you ride these bikes most of the time. The six-speed gearbox on every one of these I’ve ridden shifts perfectly without the clutch, up or down, if you roll out of the throttle just the tiniest bit, as God intended, and nudge the lever.

Something in a nice gray and black, perhaps? I could pop the screen to high (it’s low here) if I set the cruise control and used both hands. That seat’s nice and thick; higher and lower options are available.

Ride Modes Pro is the other big deal with the Premium package, which gets you Dynamic and customizable User ride modes in addition to Rain and Road, along with Onboard Computer Pro, which allows you to configure the TFT instrument display in various ways to suit your mood. Ho hum … You’re supposed to be able to get Ride Modes Pro as a $350 option on any RS, which is definitely the way to go since with it comes Dynamic Traction Control – a great thing to have in the rain. All RS’s come with switch-offable integral ABS brakes.

Anyway, I wanted all the electronic help I could get in the Canadian slop, and the RS was there for me, complete with two-position heated grips to keep my hands warm (with their own dedicated button), even as the water was making its way up my sleeves by the end of the day (other than that, my Gore-Tex-lined Dainese ensemble proved watertight yet again. Miraculous!).

Grabbing big handfuls of torque in the wet while leaned over results in nothing more alarming than a flashing light on the customizable dashboard, and on the new bike, a quick-turn throttle lets you get to full power with less wristation. Otherwise you just hunker down behind the reasonably generous windshield and get on with it; another advantage of RS over XR for the cheap at heart is that BMW says it’ll get 57 mpg (at a steady 55 mph) versus 44 for the XR. That’ll add up at $4 a gallon for premium.

Okay, yeah, the new S1000XR was the star of the show up there in the Great White North, and as I wrote last week it may be my favorite new BMW. But if I’d had to pick it or the RS to ride back to SoCal from up there in the rain, and live with for the next year or two, I’d have a hard time not climbing aboard the deep-dish, low-stress RS. Something about the old Boxer soothes the soul; it’s probably no coincidence Pirsig’s classic (and interminable) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance discusses the Boxer.

+ Highs

Yo, it’s the Harley-Davidson of Deutschland (but besser)

One of motorcycling’s all-time great engines; maintain it yourself

No-stress, smooth operator

– Sighs

Not the prettiest RS ever

Instrumentation is a bit busy and small of digit

The new S1000XR is calling our name…

It doesn’t get the lean-sensitive ABS Pro brakes of the new XR, but BMW’s Integral ABS, complete with 320mm discs up front and radial calipers, stops the RS with great power and confidence.

For a solo rider, the RS (with bags) will do everything the R1200RT will do. For most of us, it’ll do everything we’d reasonably ask of the R1200GS (while being five pounds lighter) – and it’s not at all far removed from the basic standard R1200R, which is one of the best motorcycles for doing absolutely everything else, ever devised. In our profession here at MO, it’s sort of our job to fall for pretty new faces. But the older we get, the more we appreciate true love. Sniff.

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2015-bmw-r1200rs-first-ride-review.html/feed29more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/battle-adventures-bmw-vs-ktm-video
http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/battle-adventures-bmw-vs-ktm-video#commentsSat, 03 Jan 2015 02:45:44 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?post_type=shoot-outs&p=19851Battle Of The Adventures: BMW vs. KTM + VideoThe we take the BMW R1200GS Adventure and KTM 1190 Adventure the not-so-long way around. more]]>Instead of two specially-prepped BMW R1150GS Adventures, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman should have split Long Way Round riding duties between stock versions of the GSA and KTM’s (at the time) 950 Adventure. An epic shootout of 20,000 around-the-world miles! Alas, they did not. Leaving moto hacks such as myself and John Burns to venture less than twenty-hundred miles within the confines of the state of California. Kind of the opposite of epic.

At least we were aboard BMW’s and KTM’s latest and greatest Adventure models – the BMW R1200GS Adventure and the KTM 1190 Adventure – both equipped with the kind of electronic wizardry Obi-Wan and Boorman could only dreamed of having back in 2004. They were rumored to have three chase vehicles (one of them driven by a BMW mechanic). We had our videographer, Jay McNally, and his Dodge Caravan. Anyway, back to the electronics.

Both Adventures are outfitted with impressive electronic arsenals. ABS and TC are standard on both bikes, are switchable and vary in intrusiveness according to the Riding Mode selected. Such as on the BMW, selecting Enduro Pro mode leaves TC engaged but minimizes its effect, and switches ABS off on the rear wheel while leaving it engaged for the front wheel. KTM’s Off-Road mode allows 100% of rear-wheel slippage, a higher degree of ABS-controlled front-wheel slippage than in Street mode, while ABS and cornering ABS (C-ABS) are disengaged at the rear wheel.

While the electronics packages are similar, they do differ in their offerings. A glaring omission is the absence of cruise control on the KTM.

You may have noticed we chose to pit BMW’s ultra off-roader against KTM’s standard Adventure, instead of the 1190 Adventure R model. The reasoning behind this decision was mostly tire size uniformity. Both of these Adventures use identically sized tires:120/70-19 fronts and 170/60-17 rears. The R-spec KTM is equipped with a more off-road-worthy 90/90-21 and 150/70-18 front/rear tire-size combo, while the standard GS has cast-aluminum wheels as standard. More important, though, is electronic suspension. When it comes to suspension, BMW and KTM are working on an inverse premise between the two company’s Adventure-Touring models. Where KTM has ESA on its more streetable 1190 Adventure and clicker components on its more off-road R model, BMW has ESA as part of the Premium Package on its Adventure model and non-ESA suspension on the base model Adventure (if you can actually find a base model GSA) and GS.

The e-suspensions are similar in operation. KTM’s provides an extra preload setting (two-up with luggage), but when it comes to compression and rebound, the BMW exhibits a wider range of damping. BMW’s Soft setting is cloud-like compared to its Hard setting, whereas KTM’s Comfort remains relatively stiff.

BMW lists the base model GSA’s MSRP at $18,340, with the Premium Package adding $3355, for a retail price of $21,695. Saddlebag mounts are included in the Premium Package price, actual saddlebags are not. Add another $1668 for those. Price as tested, $23,463.

“Even on Comfort, the KTM’s ride is never quite as plush as the BMW’s,” says Out-To-Lunch Editor, John Burns. “On Soft, the BMW is a porch swing rocking back and forth. On Hard with full bags, tearing up and down Montezuma Grade, it was a transformed beast able to keep the KTM in sight.”

The GS is a dauntingly large bike. With a full tank of fuel (an impressively generous 7.9 gal), it weighs in without the aluminum bags at 603 pounds (add 13 pounds per bag). Seat height in the low setting is 35 inches. You don’t need to be Paul Bunyan, but it helps, even with the $250 Low Suspension option that reduces height by 1.2 inches. The KTM, on the other hand, weighs 81 pounds less with a comparatively low seat height of 33.8 inches, 1.2 inches less than the BMW. The GS carries 1.8 gallons more fuel, but that’s only worth 11 pounds, leaving a 70-pound difference between the two.

While the BMW certainly has the extended range for discovering what’s around the bend (300 miles vs 216 miles for the KTM), its extra weight makes righting the bike following a tip-over a daunting task. While the KTM isn’t exactly light, its 70-pounds difference could mean the difference between riding or walking back to civilization.

The BMW’s flat-Twin produces more low-end torque than KTM’s 75° V-Twin, which helps explain the Beemer’s advantage when going slow in the dirt. Otherwise, the KTM’s Twin whoops the Beemer, and it’s readily apparent after riding the two back-to-back.

The combination of lighter weight and more formidable engine gives the KTM performance advantages both on and off the pavement. “As a sportbike, the 80-pound lighter, 19-hp stronger KTM will kill the BMW, but it’s amazing how almost-as-fast the BMW is to the KTM in spite of its spec-chart disadvantage, and how creature-comfortable it is compared to the KTM,” says Burns.

Like suspension settings, BMW has a wider range of Riding Modes with Enduro and Enduro Pro available compared to KTM’s single Off-Road offering. BMW’s Enduro mode softens both suspension as well as throttle response, whereas Enduro Pro stiffens suspension and sharpens throttle response – the differences are obvious when switching between the two. KTM’s Off-Road mode reduces horsepower and TC intervention, allowing more rear-wheel spin, but this is the only off-road setting available.

Both bikes come with centerstands, but the sportier KTM touches its down first, the product of less suspension travel (approximately one inch) and therefore less ground clearance.

“The KTM engine will lug right down and pull from 2500 rpm, but it always wants you to open the gas,” says Burns. “The BMW on the other hand, seems like it was bred to be a pack mule, content and happy to poke along slow and find footing… but with a 108-hp top end, that seems like plenty.”

When transitioning or hard braking the GSA exhibits superior chassis stability due to its Telelever front end. With its long-travel suspension and conventional fork, the KTM’s front dives when the front binders are applied, and when the pace gets really hot you can feel the bike moving around, not able to settle. Still, the KTM gets to and through corners quicker than the Beemer, the GSA’s weight and size making it seem somewhat lethargic by comparison.

Stopping power and modulation on either bike is exceptional, as is either bike’s ABS. Admittedly, neither Burns nor I had the wherewithal to test the limits of KTM’s C-ABS. Maybe next time.

Both bikes are equipped with manually adjustable windscreens. Advantage here goes to BMW for not only providing more protection but also for its single twist-knob that provides on-the-fly adjustability. The KTM’s windscreen is proportionate to the bike’s fairing, so its hard to fault the amount of protection (optional, larger screens exist), but its failure is requiring a rider to stop prior to adjusting the screen’s position.

Shaft final drive on the BMW vs. chain on the KTM is a huge consideration, especially for the world traveler. Add to that some of the best seat cushioning ever and significant crash protection, and the BMW’s advantages begin adding up.

The width of the GS’s fuel tank/fairing also goes a long way in protecting its rider. It’s a mental challenge to wrap your mind around how large the GS appears, especially with those crashbars adding girth, but the tradeoff is excellent lower-body protection from the elements.

When our adventure tour of Southern California and its deserts had concluded, the heavier but less powerful BMW arrived home with a slight advantage in fuel economy: 37.9 mpg, versus 35.5 mpg for KTM.

The KTM’s saddlebags look the part, but we preferred the top-loading cases and secure fastening of BMW’s bags. KTM’s integrated mounting system received praise for not looking like a children’s playground jungle gym when the bags are removed. If you’re not riding the KTM off-road, its bags more than suffice.

“Though the KTM seems like it should be really similar to the MOBOTY Super Duke R, it never feels quite as smooth and relaxed as that bike does at cruising speed,” says Burns. “Even on Comfort, its ride is never quite as plush as the SDR or the BMW, and the engine never runs quite as smooth as either of those.”

Engine vibration is something I noted in my First Ride Review of the 1190 Adventure. Giving the KTM a “Sigh” for a very vibey engine above 8000 rpm. “After an extended period of high-rpm canyon riding I grabbed another gear (my ass cheeks were getting tingly) which diminished the worst of the vibrations as well as the illumination of the MTC warning light,” said I.

+ Highs

Comfort & performance

Shaft drive

Suspension more compliant; wider range of electronic damping

– Sighs

Big, heavy, expensive

Don’t drop it!

Lofty seat height

We’re giving the KTM Adventure the performance edge largely for its insurmountable combination of more power and less weight compared to the GSA. However, the press launch for the GSA was a largely off-road affair, and there were journalists of varying off-road skills in attendance. It was a witnessable proving ground for the GSA’s abilities in the hands of talented and less-talented riders. So don’t think the GSA can’t hang in the dirt. It can, albeit with a little more effort.

A vast price difference of more than $5k exists between these two models. BMW does offer the standard model GS for a base price of $16,175. Adding the (stupidly named -Ed.) Standard Package ($1580), which has ESA, cruise control and heated grips, brings the MSRP to $17,755 – $144 less than the KTM without cruise control or heated grips! Although the standard GS remains less powerful and significantly heavier than the KTM, it’s a bike worth serious consideration if you’re shopping for a big adventure-tourer.

+ Highs

More performance than BMW

Less: Weight, seat height, price

Just wait ’til my big brother, the Super Adventure, arrives!

– Sighs

No cruise control

Bags not as off-road worthy as BMW

Engine’s a little vibey, especially for the long haul

After our adventures on these two Adventure models, Burns sums up our experience thusly. “I guess at the end of the day, the KTM is the harder-edged weapon for testosterone-filled competitive younger riders who plan to put in serious off-road mileage aboard the Black Stallion. The BMW’s a more comfortable old saddle horse, less speedy but completely comfortable and predictable. If you actually were going to ride a motorcycle around the world, I think it’s the one you’d pick.”

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/battle-adventures-bmw-vs-ktm-video/feed9more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2015-bmw-r1200r-first-ride-review-video.html
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2015-bmw-r1200r-first-ride-review-video.html#commentsTue, 09 Dec 2014 02:04:55 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?p=189012015 BMW R1200R First Ride Review + VideoThe BMW R1200R is your basic Roadster, the most direct descendant of the first Boxer BMW built. more]]>Last but not least in BMW’s new line of liquid-cooled Boxers (and not even quite last since the RS variant will be here next year), is the lovely new thoroughly redesigned R1200R you see here. Where the GS and GS Adventure want you to dig out your Boy Scout neckerchief and head off into the boonies, and the RT wants you to abandon your life and make them all three-day weekends, the basic R is the bike for all reasons: This one’s designed to be great everyday urban transport but comfortable and capable enough for long distances with a passenger and luggage as well, and a reasonable dirt road wouldn’t be a problem either. It’s your basic Roadster, the most direct descendant of the first Boxer BMW built nigh-on 100 years ago.

Its mostly new tubular steel frame was left exposed in many areas to show off the purity of design BMW says this market segment wants. It’s definitely different, due to the fact that this is the first naked Boxer that slurps its fuel and air from the top of the cylinder head instead of from behind it, and having the intake tracts so prominently on display is a little incongruous at first. With no plastic to hide behind, it was also a difficult motorcycle in which to package all the things we’ve come to expect, and there’s plenty of them here.

BMW had already been building Boxers for 13 years before it introduced the 1936 R5, with a 494cc Twin that could propel it to 86 mph.

You can start with dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment just like on the other water-Boxers. As usual, the base, non-ESA model was even hard to find at BMW’s press launch, but you’ll recognize it by its silver-colored fork tubes if you ever happen to spot one in the wild.

The ESA on the R works just like on the other Boxers: Using the handlebar buttons and the thumbwheel on the left grip lets you choose and fine-tune suspension settings. If you’re worried about the long-term reliability, maybe you shouldn’t be. According to BMW’s suspension engineer Martin Hartinger, who was along for the ride, the only things that could go wrong really are two electric needle-and-seat valves in the left fork tube, which handles all the front damping, and another one in the shock. Expensive cars have been using similar valves for years and they’re highly reliable.

The base bike also gets ABS, Automatic Stability Control, and two standard power delivery modes, Rain and Road (Rain gives the full 125-horsepower, but more gradually). From there, the buyer can opt for a “Pro” riding mode that also provides “Dynamic” and fully customizable “User” modes. That might be overkill on a roadster, really, but you want it anyway because with Pro comes the latest BMW Dynamic Traction Control (they’re very fond of the word “dynamic”), complete with a bank-angle sensor like all the cool bikes have now, including the S1000RR superbike. When you’re leaned all the way over on the edge of the tire, the computer’s going to step in to limit tire spin almost immediately. The more upright the bike becomes, the more it’s allowed to spin the tire and the more heroic you feel (and the more intact you’ll remain, hopefully).

Edgar Heinrich, VP BMW Motorrad Design, says the Roadster was a tough one because it needs to look as minimalist as possible, but needs all the same things as the plastic-shrouded RT: “You should be able to ride 3,000 kilometers from here to Munich and enjoy it. Because of its heritage, it needs to hit people emotionally as well. Emotionality is why people want roadsters now.”

Bring on the Rain

It seems like every time I go to Spain to ride motorcycles because it’s always sunny and dry there, it rains. This rain was mostly intermittent mist, just enough to keep the roads wet, and was at least a perfect opportunity to play with the electronics.

“Style 2” is this black/gray version, without the lower fairing deals or flyscreen of the white/red-framed Style 1. The base model is Cordoba Blue. None were on hand … Full props to Dainese Gore-Tex gear, Sidi boots and Metzeler Roadtec Z8 rubber.

BMW rates this 1170cc Boxer at 125 horsepower (same as the R1200RT that put out 110 hp at the rear wheel and 80 ft-lbs of torque in last month’s’ Sport-Touring Final Smackdown). If that’s not quite KTM Super Duke R territory (156 rear-wheel hp / 96.5 lb-ft), it feels closer than the numbers indicate, partly because the BMW’s torque peak is so low in the powerband, at around 5400 rpm on our RT – the torque really is the thing with the Boxer. Max horsepower arrives at 7750 rpm in this bike, according to BMW, who also say the R’s new airbox and exhaust let it produce a shade more low-rev power than the RT and GS. Bereft of sound system and baggage and fairing, it also weighs 509 pounds to the RT’s 604 (our scales had the RT at 617), the GS’s 525, and the Super Duke’s 469 pounds.

Specs-wise, then, the R’s not quite our MOBOTY KTM Super Duke R, but it’s close enough on a damp, twisting Spanish backroad and nearly everywhere else, too, especially since it has the same sort of confidence-boosting upright ergonomics and aluminum handlebar. At first, you tiptoe in to the corner carefully, and give a tentative exit twist of the throttle in Rain mode. By the first coffee stop, you’re still tiptoeing in, but giving the digital throttle cable big healthy tugs in Dynamic at the exits, to which the Boxer responds with really serious acceleration and an inspiring boomy exhaust note that’s now more barky than flatulent; now it sounds almost as nice as a 90-degree Twin, and a pack of Rs running together sounds like the Luftwaffe’s back in town.

It’s always good to have a spare.

With such good traction control, you sort of wonder why they bother with a Rain mode, though it does tame the throttle response noticeably. Spanish backroads are amazingly grippy and smooth even when wet, the bike’s Metzeler Z8s are likewise impressive, and you have to twist the throttle surprisingly hard to see the TC lights on the dashboard flicker. When it happens, it’s really smooth and unobtrusive. And when you look up it’s time to try the ABS, because all that torque has you at the next corner really quick. The Shift Assist – actually, this bike gets the Shift Assistant Pro – is really nice in the rain, too. When you’ve already got enough to think about modulating the brakes and wondering what’s better – Armco or thousand-foot cliff? – all you need to do is toe the shifter down (with the throttle closed) for a perfect smooth double-clutch auto-blip downshift. It’s part of the Pro ride mode option, also.

A 45mm fully adjustable fork much like the one on the S1000R takes up where the Telelever was hacked off, with damping in the left tube only.

Another big difference is the use of a 45mm inverted fork instead of the usual Telelever front end. BMW says it’s for packaging and aesthetic reasons, but also “for optimum riding precision, as well as clear feedback from the front wheel.” Some riders have always complained the Telelever feels a bit numb at full lean, which never was much of an issue for most of us riding it on the street. Putting on a fork similar to the one it uses on the S1000RR (and unlike the one on the R Nine T) sends a message that the new 1200R is also meant to be a very capable sportbike.

In Rain, Road or Dynamic, the bike always felt well balanced with my 160 pounds on board. We did hit a few stretches of curves that were mostly dry, but never dry enough to really take up the cudgels. Though it’s got a lot of trail – 4.95 inches via 27.7-degrees rake – it seems like the R could be made to turn in really quickly. Ridden in the wet, though, it was nice and stable, and all the modern electronic aids swaddle you in a safety blanket you’re as thankful for as the warm, dry Dainese Gore-Tex-lined suit I got an excuse to wear. Naturally, the new bike comes with two-stage heated grips with their own dedicated control button … ahhh.

It’s a good place to sit, and in town I know from experience these bikes have no equal when it comes to repelling flank attacks from cars.

Comfort-wise, it’s sort of a sit-down-in bike with a high tank like the Super Duke R; the tank’s a good shape for gripping with your thighs, and also acts like a torso fairing. For me, the grips and footpegs are in excellent places, with different seats available from 760 to 840mm (29.9 to 33 inches). Of course, hard bags and a top case are options. How about I just list all the optional BMW parts at the end, since there is a shedload?

An analog speedo is accompanied by a TFT display packed with information from the onboard computer that you can reduce to not so much in “Tourist” mode. The tach’s too small to read, but who needs it with a big grunty Twin? A light sensor automatically adjusts for ambient light, and day and night designs.

Why build a Boxer Roadster anyway, given that BMW already has the lighter, faster four-cylinder S1000R in its lineup, which lost by a red nostril hair to the Super Duke R in our Super Naked comparisons last year? Tradition, that’s why. It’s BMW’s signature architecture, and as such, Boxer-engined bikes still make up more than 50% of BMW sales. BMW’s original “Flying Brick” Four that was supposed to replace the Boxer 30 years ago is cold in the grave. The current inline-Four is a great engine, the 1600 Six is a scalp-tingling engineering marvel, but when it comes to establishing emotional attachment to a motorcycle, there seems to be no substitute, for many people, for a thing with two really big pistons you can trace to nearly the beginning of motorcycling. (Maybe there’s a mammalian connection? Why do we call them “jugs”?)

It’s completely modernized and better than ever, but the new R is still a great old highly civilized beast roaring free through a numbed-out world where people riding an Airbus 380 to Europe would rather shut the windows and watch awful movies full of choreographed car crashes and machine guns with bottomless magazines than see the world pass beneath them. Oh well. More dynamic fun for the rest of us.

+ Highs

Outstanding ergos and seat

Standard cruise control!

Optional Keyless Ride system lets you start
the bike, put in gas, and lock the fork without taking the key from your pocket

– Sighs

A little TMI in the instrumentation department

Big motor looks even bigger with downdraft intakes

Someday I’d like to try a non-ESA

BMW R1200R Specifications Specs

Engine

Air/liquid-cooled twin-cylinder Boxer engine

Displacement

1170cc

Bore/stroke

101 x 73mm

Compression ratio

12.5:1, premium unleaded (95 RON)

Valve actuation

DOHC 4v/cylinder; 40mm intake valves, 34mm exhausts

Fuel delivery

BMS-X fuel injection; two 52mm throttle bodies

Emission control

Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converter

Alternator output

508 watts

Gearbox

Constant-mesh 6-speed, back-torque limiting wet clutch

Transmission ratios

I 2.438 II 1.714 III 1.296 IV 1.059 V 0.943 VI 0.848

Final drive

Shaft, 2.818

Frame

Tubular steel bridge frame, engine self-supporting

Front suspension

45mm inverted telescopic fork; 140mm (5.5 in.) travel

Rear suspension

BMW EVO Paralever; 140mm (5.5 in.) travel

Rake/trail

27.7 degrees/ 125.6mm (4.95 in.)

Wheelbase

1515mm (59.65 in.)

Front brake

Dual 320mm discs, 4-piston calipers, ABS

Rear brake

276mm disc, 2-piston caliper, ABS

Wheels

3.50 x 17 in., 5.50 x 17 in.

Tires

120/70 ZR17, 180/55 ZR17

Seat height

760, 820 or 840mm (29.9 to 33 in.)

DIN unladen weight, road ready

231 kg (509 lb)

Permitted total weight

450 kg (992 lb)

Fuel tank capacity

18L (4.76 gal)

Optional Stuff

All optional equipment included in the packages can also be ordered
individually, with the exception of the onboard computer Pro.

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2015-bmw-r1200r-first-ride-review-video.html/feed21more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2014-sport-touring-final-smackdown-video
http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2014-sport-touring-final-smackdown-video#commentsThu, 06 Nov 2014 20:32:31 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?post_type=shoot-outs&p=175172014 Sport-Touring Final SmackDown + VideoWas the WunderBoxer worth the wait? Why, yes. more]]>The BMW we really wanted to take along for our epic sport tour to Yosemite back in July was the company’s new R1200RT, but a batch of faulty rear shock shafts on the ESA models put the kibosh on that, so we wound up taking the K1600GT instead. The big six-cylinder is a great bike in its own right, but really falls more into the touring camp than the sport-touring one. Not that that kept us from declaring it the winner. We’re fickle that way. But based upon our own Tom Roderick’s impressions of the RT on his introductory ride way back in April, we went ahead and named it our Sport-Tourer of the Year, anyway. So, there was really no pressure on the new BMW; it was all on Roderick, who responded in his usual way by setting off to down the easiest target first.

What with EICMA coming up and everything, there was really no time for a Yosemite run: Instead of Half Dome, we had to settle for Salvation Mountain. The Salton Sea is a reasonable facsimile of Mono Lake, and the olfactory ambiance provided by the Mecca II Sanitary Landfill was close enough to a ride through L.A.

Moto-Guzzi Norge GT 8V

We hadn’t ridden the old Norge since Tommy-boy reviewed it in 2011, (though Troy S. took it for a shakedown cruise last week) so it seemed like a good time to take it for a spin, though nothing much has changed with the Moto Guzzi. The Norge’s architecture of a twin-cylinder motor in a shaft-driven chassis is shared with the RT, but it was difficult to imagine the old girl prevailing against the very latest fly-by-wire electronic wonderbikes from Japan and Germany. But it’s a Guzzi; everybody wants to ride it anyway.

Tom took the first shot: “The Norge has an electrically adjustable windscreen, ABS and heated grips, but that’s the end of the technological road. I can live without a heated seat, but cruise control and electronically adjustable suspension are indispensable creature comforts in modern day touring rigs … for only $600 less than the Yamaha, it needs a lot more than that to keep up with the Joneses. If Guzzi dropped the price to around $15K, I could then justify purchasing the Norge out of this trio.”

Personally, I think the price would have to go lower than that before we Analog People might be able to talk ourselves into the Guzzi. Suspension’s not the only area where the Norge falls behind. As ever, you have to love its 1151cc 90-degree V-Twin, but in the Norge, the Italians have civilized it all the way down to just 86.4 horsepower at 7000 rpm, from the 95 it makes in the Griso 8V. Meanwhile, the other Twin in this test is making 110 horses up top, along with 10 more foot-pounds of torque than the Guzzi, at fewer rpm.

The Norge’s V-Twin feels more powerful than it looks on this chart, but there’s no mistaking that it’s outgunned in this comparison. The FJR uses its extra displacement to create strong midrange power with the biggest hit when revved out. Occupying the middle ground is BMW’s efficient and fairly revvy water-cooled Boxer.

The Norge is nice and mellow, though, and we all agreed it has the comfiest seat of the three; it’s carved from the same foam they use on the back of Lady Gaga’s thighs. If your inseam is 30 inches or less, Norge ergos are sweet indeed. If you’re taller, the footpegs are a bit too high and forward. For cool-weather riding, its electric-adjust windscreen provides the least coverage, though you can get a decent still-air pocket for your helmet most of the time. And no cruise control is now inexcusable on an S-T rig, though there are inexpensive aftermarket solutions that make the situation bearable.

The Guzzi also falls short in the luggage department. You have to deal with not one but two fiddly latches per bag every time you want in. “The saddlebags are the antithesis of proficient,” Tom says, “someone get Miguel Galluzzi involved immediately!” They are better than no saddlebags, but you have to deal with not one but two fiddly latches per bag every time you want in. Nor does the Guzzi give you any storage in the fairing, or a 12V outlet, like the other two bikes.

As for the electronic-adjust suspension, I could almost be in the camp that doesn’t really require it. In our Super Streetfighter Smackdown back in April, the manual-adjust KTM Super Duke beat the electronics-rich BMW S1000R, proving in the process that, if you get the suspension right to begin with, there’s not much need to be adjusting it all the time: Twisting the Guzzi’s remote preload knob isn’t a terrible inconvenience when you’re taking a chubby friend and your balls bowling a few towns away where you hope no one will recognize you. Most of the time, the Norge’s suspenders are nice and cushy on the superslab, while surprisingly firm enough and confidence-inspiring enough in the rough stuff to run with the other bikes.

Personally, I think the BMW speedo numbers are too small, I seldom knew how fast I was going, but nobody else complained. And the Premium package only gets you the GPS plug-in, not the GPS. Pommes frites are probably extra too.

The funny thing about the Norge is, in spite of all its shortcomings on the spec and dyno charts, it never seemed to have any trouble keeping up with the group, whether it was climbing the tight south grade up Mt. Palomar or unscientifically testing top-gear roll-on performance under the watchful eye of the California Highway Patrol on what we thought was a deserted desert highway. (Brasfield and Tom will be sending one very compassionate CHP officer a fruitcake this year and a nice Christmas card.) The Guzzi packs a lot of oomph into each chug, and if you’re behind it wringing the FJR’s 127-hp neck up a winding road, it’s hard to understand why you’re not gaining any ground.

“The Guzzi’s surprisingly competent in terms of performance,” says Tom, “it’s quick in an underwhelming way.” It will start to grind away its centerstand, and its old-fashioned cables are a little less fluid than the electronic-throttled bikes, but it’s never a problem. And its dual Brembo-clamped discs up front give up absolutely nothing to the other bikes, including ABS.

Guzzi can play the modern game; witness the excellent California 1400. The Norge is unabashedly retro and good at it; if you only listen to vinyl through a tube amplifier while clamping a meerschaum pipe in your hipster-bearded mouth, it’s your sporty tourer. Especially if you want to do your own maintenance.

Just the facts, really. The Norge clocks look like they should dispense espresso compared to the other two bikes’ high-tech panels.

+ Highs

Seatus maximus

90-degree V-Twin character and a smooth 5000-rpm, 90-mph cruise

Do your own maintenance

– Sighs

No cruise control, seriously?

Cramped legroom for tall guys

Defunct luggage

Yamaha FJR1300ES

The FJR1300ES is more powerful than two speeding locomotives.

That’s ES for Electronic Suspension, which the FJR1300 got last year and used to trounce the Triumph Trophy SE and Kawasaki Concours last April, finishing second only to the way pricier K1600GT. The Yamaha’s real competitor, though, is the R1200RT. The FJR makes 17 more hp than the RT, but weighs 27 pounds more. It makes 10-percent more torque, but not till 1400-rpm higher in the rev band.

Twenty-seven pounds really isn’t much, and both bikes carry 6.6 gallons of fuel – about 40 pounds – but we never encountered a situation where the FJR feels anywhere near as light and agile as the BMW. Part of it has to do with the boxer’s cylinders poking out sideways like Flying Wallenda balance poles, part of it has to do with its longitudinal crankshaft. The big FJR four-cylinder crank’s stroke is only about 7mm shorter than the BMW’s more oversquare twin-cylinder one, and that heavy, spinning mass wants the FJR to continue on in a straight line. Its 2.3-inch longer wheelbase doesn’t help it any.

Yamaha has taken over as the premier Japanese motorcycle builder. Discuss.

The FJR’s not really a heavy-steering bike at all (it won the Handling category in round One of this comparo), but it seems that way when you hop onto it off the BMW. The FJR’s handlebars are a bit narrower than the BMW’s, you lean a little farther forward to get to them – and its overall ergonomics are a bit sportier than the BMW’s. Sportier in this case, means not quite as comfortable and controllable.

“The narrowness of the FJR’s bars don’t provide the same leverage you get with the BMW or Guzzi,” Tom Roderick says, “and it’s also wide between the knees, too wide for my tastes, feels as though I’m riding a horse.”

Evans Brasfield still loves the FJR, but agrees its electronic suspension can’t quite hang with the BMW’s ESA: “The FJR’s adjustable suspension is outclassed by the BMW’s Dynamic ESA. It’s particularly noticeable when the chassis gets upset by getting unweighted by a bump entering a corner. The RT handles this situation with much less drama.”

If you fly up and down the Autobahn a lot over 100 mph, the FJR’s extra horsepower and more aggressive ergos will serve you well. Here in the U.S., not so much. Progress happens. Yamaha has done a fantastic job integrating electronic suspension, fly-by-wire, traction control, cruise control and a highly sophisticated cockpit onto the FJR. But the fact remains this platform is now 13 years old. Okay 14.

I like the FJR instrumentation best. Evans does not. The bars are 3-position adjustable, the seat goes up and down. But the target keeps moving …

The good news if you want an FJR is that the FJR1300A has all the bells and whistles except electronic suspension, for a thousand bucks less, $15,890, making it the low-priced spread in this comparison and an amazing sport-touring bargain no one here at MO would dissuade you from. And you won’t have to stand in line at the BMW dealer, helmet in hand, discussing poetry.

+ Highs

Inhales great draughts of space (Walt Whitman, you oafs…)

Bulletproof everything

All systems seamlessly integrated

– Sighs

More sporty than toury

Feels heavy next to the RT

Needs a downshift to get rolling below 60 mph

BMW R1200RT

State-of-the-Art Sport Touring, ladies and gentlemen.

Although the FJR and BMW are geared about the same – both turning about 4500 rpm at 80-ish mph – the BMW squirts ahead when both throttles are rolled open in top gear. The FJR makes more power and torque, but the lighter RT hits its 80 lb-ft. peak at just 5400 rpm, where the FJR doesn’t hit its 89 lb-ft. peak till 6800. You feel that immediate response every time you exit a tight corner, too, where the RT uses its wider bars, more upright ergonomics and lighter weight to run the same pace as the FJR with considerably less effort.

“The FJR looks the part of the sportiest sport-tourer here, but it’s really not,” says Tom. “The BMW is faster, has more ground clearance, and is arguably a better-handling motorcycle. Then there’s the Shift Assist Pro, which makes riding the RT quickly through a set tight switchbacks seem as though you’re riding an S1000RR.”

Vaya con Dios. The new wet clutch up front means you don’t have to split the bike in two for service.

It is nice to be able to swap between Soft, Normal and Hard suspension modes on the fly, but riding along the freeway in Hard is by no means harsh, and swooping along in the curves in Soft didn’t seem the least bit hazardous. Matter of fact I was so busy sampling the two extremes, I don’t recall ever riding along in Normal at all, which I bet might have been just right. Plumping for the Premium Package ($20,850) definitely has its rewards, but if you lean toward the simple life, and could find a base model RT for $17,705, I don’t think you’d be disappointed. Before they invented electronic suspension, the RTs were always great-riding motorcycles. The base bike comes with ABS, cruise control, a 12V outlet up front and a GPS mount – all the stuff you really need.

All three bikes have fantastic 320mm front discs and ABS, but the Beemer’s are the fantasticest. I love how they put the air valve in the spoke.

The $3200 Premium Package on our bike only adds the electronic suspension (Dynamic ESA) and a lot of stuff most riders could do without – except the heated seat! – which doesn’t appear to be a stand-alone option. Am I the only guy who can’t live without a sound system, Hill Start Control and the ability to switch into Enduro Pro, run studded tires, and perform controlled drifts?

The looks are about the only thing I can find to criticize, a bit like an angry Real Housewife of Orange County whose boobs are too big for her britches, no?

Evans Brasscannons: “The Beemer’s riding position is the most comfortable of the bunch, placing me in an upright position with a relaxed reach to the bar. The seat’s narrowness makes it seem lower than the FJR’s identical height [both are adjustable between 31.7 and 32.5 inches], which makes pushing the bike backwards out of a parking space a much easier task for my 32-inch inseam.

“The RT’s lightness is noticeable in this crowd, and it feels lighter than the scales indicate. This is massively important at parking lot speeds. Out on the open road, the RT’s responsive steering makes it feel like you can determine its line within a fraction of an inch.

“The engine’s broad torque delivery makes it the most willing of the bunch at any rpm, cleanly walking away in every roll-on test … though some vibration does make its way into the pegs and grips at higher rpm.

“What a revelation the Shift Assist Pro is! At first attempt, downshifting without the clutch feels alien but becomes second nature,” Brasfield sums up.

Tom R.: “At nearly $21k, the RT is $4k more than the FJR, but it’s easily worth the money. The RT disguises itself as a touring bike, but once underway, it makes its sporting intentions known. Light on its feet, the RT makes quick transitioning a breeze.

“The windscreen in high is right in my line of sight, so I rode with it an an inch lower, which only slightly increased wind noise and turbulence. Wind protection for the hands and feet is also excellent.

“Sound quality from the fairing-mounted speakers is clear at freeway speeds as long as the windscreen is up.”

The new Beemer gave up a few points on the official MO Scorecard against the FJR for its price and relative lack of horsepower, but it won every subjective category to easily clinch the win over the FJR. The sun had long set by the time we’d finished eating great food and discussing the finer points at the Lumber Mill Bar and Grill in Idyllwild, 5400 feet up in the mountains where fall was definitely in the air.

Lucky me drew the BMW straw for the ride home. With heated grips and seat set to two bars of five, suspension set Hard and throttle to Road, it was a delicious descent down the dark, winding mountain road through the pines, back into the city lights, back to I-10. Set suspension to Soft, engage cruise control, raise windshield, turn up the Pandora. We’d gassed up in Idyllwild, and the tripmeter clicked over 100 miles as I pulled up to my humble abode. The clock said 10:30. I felt fresh as the proverbial daisy. There is no other land-bound vehicle I would rather have been on or in. Yup, it’s as good as Tom said, and we did the right thing naming the RT Sport-Tourer of the Year.

Price and weight are scored based on objective metrics. Other scores are listed as a percentage of editors’ ratings in each category. The Engine category is double-weighted, so the Overall Score is not a total of the displayed percentages but, rather, a percentage of the weighted aggregate raw score.

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2014-sport-touring-final-smackdown-video/feed36more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/intermot-2014-bmw-r12000rs.html
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/intermot-2014-bmw-r12000rs.html#commentsTue, 30 Sep 2014 10:11:24 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?p=14689Intermot 2014: BMW R1200RSThe 1976 R 100 RS was the first mass-produced motorcycle in the world to come with a full frame-mounted fairing, a bike that immediately more]]>The 1976 R 100 RS was the first mass-produced motorcycle in the world to come with a full frame-mounted fairing, a bike that immediately put BMW on the map as a maker of truly sporty tourers, and reinforced its boxer twin as the company’s signature motor. The all-new R1200RS is a continuation of that tradition, powered by the same DOHC boxer that powers the R1200GS, R1200RT and the new R1200R.

BMW claims 125 horsepower at 7750 rpm and 92 lb‑ft. of torque at 6500 rpm. Compared to the GS and RT engines, torque has increased slightly at low revs. The exhaust gases are routed through a two-into-one exhaust system. A modified airbox, newly shaped air intake snorkels and a centrally positioned radiator are designed to produce a slender, sporty and dynamic-looking front silhouette.

A new steel-tube frame developed for the RS incorporates the boxer-twin engine as a stressed element. Instead of BMW’s Telelever up front, the RS gets an inverted fork, and EVO Paralever suspends the rear wheel. “The overriding objective for the new R1200RS,” says BMW, was “creating an exceptionally dynamic RS model for the keen rider, whose design language has been derived from the S1000RR superbike.”

It wouldn’t be a BMW without cutting-edge electronics. Standard equipment includes two riding modes, Rain and Road, ABS braking and ASC (Automatic Stability Control). With the optional Riding mode Pro feature, the R 1200 RS adds Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) with banking detection, as well as two extra riding modes – “Dynamic” and “User”. The latest generation of BMW’s electronically controlled suspension, Dynamic ESA (Electronic Suspension Adjustment), is also standard: Two damping settings, “Road” and “Dynamic”, enable the rider to adjust damping for conditions with the push of a button.

The instrumentation of the new R1200RS takes a leap forward, too. Speed is displayed in traditional fashion by an analog speedometer, but a cool new TFT display shows a wide array of other information.

Other options include Keyless Ride and BMW’s Gear Shift Assistant Pro. The aerodynamic half-fairing with twin headlights only slightly recalls the original RS. Two colors will be available: Lupin blue metallic / Light grey metallic, and the sporty and a “Style 2” variant in Granite grey metallic matt.

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/intermot-2014-bmw-r12000rs.html/feed5more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/intermot-2014-2015-bmw-r1200r-gets-liquid-cooled-boxer-engine.html
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/intermot-2014-2015-bmw-r1200r-gets-liquid-cooled-boxer-engine.html#commentsTue, 30 Sep 2014 09:11:08 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?p=14697Intermot 2014: 2015 BMW R1200R Gets Liquid-Cooled Boxer EngineBMW pulled the covers off a new R1200R featuring the liquid-cooled boxer engine first introduced on the R1200GS more]]>BMW pulled the covers off a new R1200R featuring the liquid-cooled boxer engine first introduced on the R1200GS and also equipped on the R1200RT and the newly revealed R1200RS.

According to BMW, the engine produces 125 hp at 7750 rpm and 92 ft-lb. at 6500 rpm, with increased and more uniform torque across the rev range. Along with the new engine comes a 2-in-1 exhaust system, a modified airbox and reshaped air intakes and a centrally-positioned radiator. The R1200R comes with two ride modes, “Rain” and “Road”, and with the Riding mode Pro option, adds dynamic traction control and the “Dynamic” and “User” modes.

The boxer engine is mounted in a new tubular steel bridge frame developed for the R1200R and the new R1200RS. BMW did away with the telelever front suspension, equipping the 2015 model with a telescopic fork. At the rear, the R1200R uses the brand’s signature EVO Paralever. Suspension damping can be electronically controlled with BMW’s optional Dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment to adapt to changing road conditions.

Braking duties are covered by radial-mounted four-piston calipers and like all BMW streetbikes, the 2015 R1200R comes standard with anti-lock brakes.

Other features include automatic stability control, 10-spoke cast wheels, an updated instrument cluster and a number of options including keyless ride and gear shift assist.

]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/intermot-2014-2015-bmw-r1200r-gets-liquid-cooled-boxer-engine.html/feed7more]]>http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/retro-roadster-shootout
http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/retro-roadster-shootout#commentsWed, 03 Sep 2014 19:22:25 +0000http://www.motorcycle.com/?post_type=shoot-outs&p=13589Retro Roadster Comparo + VideoOne is commemorative, one retrospective, and one uniquely orthodox relative to the company’s ethos. more]]>One of these three motorcycles is commemorative, the other retrospective, and the third, uniquely orthodox relative to the company’s ethos. Probably not hard to ascertain which bike is being referenced. They seem equally comparable yet disparate in the same moment.

Honda’s, it’s-1978-all-over-again, CB1100 throwback to the heyday of UJMs (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) doesn’t feign to be anything but a modern iteration of the CBs that once were. This is the retrospective bike in the group. A confluence of UJM perfection.

“The bike is the most integrated and seamless of the three,” says the living retroist himself, John Burns. “All systems work well together, best balanced suspension, nicest throttle response and power delivery – but a lot of that is because the performance is lukewarm compared to the others.”

Herein lies the rub with the CB: its meager power output. While we have no qualms with a modern throwback, is it really necessary to instill the 1140cc DOHC, four-valves-per-cylinder, electronically fuel-injected inline-Four with a meager 83 horsepower at its rear wheel? The 1983 CB1100F claimed 108 hp (at its crankshaft, so, minus about 10% for driveline losses, about 97 hp. -Ed.), for chrissake!

The dyno chart reveals dips in the power curves of both Euro bikes, the Guzzi’s particularly dippy around 4500 rpm, and the BMW’s in the 5000-rpm range. Honda’s lines are pretty, but then it’s not trying very hard, either.

Despite a minimal displacement advantage, the two Twins in this comparo, BMW’s horizontally-opposed 1170cc Boxer and Moto Guzzi’s 1151cc 90-degree V-Twin, exerted substantially more effort spinning the dyno’s drum. Out on the road, where it really matters, the Griso exhibited some sloppy fueling qualities, surging slightly at part throttle, which hurt its engine performance scores despite its big-block Chevy soundtrack. Its fuel economy, around 31 mpg, was disappointingly low.

“The nineT’s Boxer-Twin is superior in almost every respect, making more power than the others at every point above 3500 rpm, while also being very competitive at low revs,” says Chief Editor, Kevin Duke. “Its fueling and throttle response are as good as it gets, without snatchiness upon reapplication, no matter if the revs are low or high.”

Except for not producing competitive power, Honda’s CB1100 faultlessly performs every task you ask of it. Footpegs touch down sooner than the others, but it’s the only bike here with a centerstand. It’s also the only bike with chain final-drive, making the centerstand almost compulsory.

Further disappointments for the Guzzi include the bike’s weight. At 556 pounds, the Griso weighs 15 more pounds than the Honda and 68 more pounds than the BMW. With 61 inches between contact patches, the Griso measures two or three more wheelbase inches than the nineT or CB, respectively.

When it comes to suspension, the Griso boasts the only fully adjustable fork and shock of the group. “The Griso’s fork is the best of this bunch, offering a controlled yet compliant ride,” says Duke. “Its rear end isn’t quite so smooth, but bump absorption is aided by the longest wheelbase of this trio.

The Griso handles somewhat trucklishly, and its drivetrain is a little rough around the edges, but its brutish charisma is appealing in ways the others can’t match. Pipes, seven inches in circumference, and turbine-engine inspired, over/under muffler design conspire in outputting a sexy exhaust thump.

The sportiest bike of the group, the BMW, offers a shock with preload (via a convenient handwheel) and rebound adjustability, but its fork has no adjustability, despite having the same architecture as BMW’s S1000RR. Not only is the gold fork colorfully inharmonious with the nineT’s black/silver color scheme, but it’s also undersprung compared to the shock’s overly stiff springing.

“The BMW is slightly harsh, with a choppy ride from the rear end, which feels a bit too stiff for the front springs,” says Burns. “I think the brakes are great, but every time you touch them, the front plunges. Over freeway chop, the thin seat and stiff spring conspire to make it not bad, but not as nice as the other two for getting to point B. Which is a shame, because the engine runs nice and vibe-free at 80 mph cruising speed, and its ergos, with a slight forward cant, feel perfectly natural at that speed.”

Overeager front brake application results in the softly-sprung fork travelling through several inches of its stroke. Lifted from the S1000RR, BMW did the nineT a disservice by not carrying over its three-way adjustability.

While the nineT’s brakes are impressively powerful, if not a little grabby, it is the Honda’s front binders, in all their mundane glory that impressed the most. “Kudos to Honda for the front-brake setup on the CB11,” says Duke. “A firm lever works with an optimal pad compound to yield superbly modulatable speed retardation, from just a hair to white-knuckling.”

The standard seating position of the Honda also provides the roomiest, most ergonomically comfortable seating position of the three, as well as a nicely padded seat with relative all-day comfort. The Griso’s seat is wide and firm, but its positioning requires a long reach to the flat, gun-metal-grey anodized superbike handlebars. The Guzzi’s passenger accommodations are nice, but there’s no grab handles like on the Honda. Then we have the BMW and its pseudo two-up seating.

The Honda has you sitting upright, with the most legroom; the Guzzi leans you forward to reach the bars; the BMW is somewhere in between.

“The nineT’s seat is the prettiest of the bunch, with lovely white stitching, but it’s the least tolerable over long distances,” says Duke. “Similarly, its short and narrow rear seat is most likely to draw the ire from a passenger.”

At $14,900 the BMW is the priciest bike here. Unlike the S1000R or RR, this price does not include an impressive electronics suite – not even heated grips – we’ve come to expect from BMW. The nineT does boast an array of forged aluminum components including fender brackets, seat supports, triple clamps and steering damper mount, as well as an aluminum fuel tank. Even-lighter magnesium is used for the valve covers.

+ Highs

One of the most user-friendly motorcycles you can buy

Near-perfect ergos if you’re within six inches of 5’8”

You’re sitting on history every time you climb on

– Sighs

The original CB was famous for out-horsepowering the competition

So perfect it can seem a little bland

Engine is a little vibey upward of 75 mph in spite of rubber-mounted handlebar risers

It should be noted that the retroish Honda rolls on cast wheels, which seem to evoke a later era, but then Honda cherry picked elements from multiple time periods in creating the CB1100. The mags still seem out of vogue, though, considering its ’70s profile. For the other two modern-era bikes here, spokes were chosen for attaching rim to hub.

Weighing 541 pounds, the CB is 15 pounds less than the Griso but 53 pounds heavier than the BMW. Helping the Honda to feel lighter than what the scales tell us is the use of time-period-appropriate narrow tire widths: 110/80-18 front and 140/70-18 rear. “To put that into context, consider the tires on Kawi’s little Ninja 300 share identical widths,” says Duke.

+ Highs

Charisma beyond most motorcycles

Sounds as good as it looks

Fully adjustable suspension

– Sighs

Unrefined EFI fueling

Driveline lash

No ABS

The Griso has radial-mount Brembo calipers fed by steel braided lines, but stopping power came only after a surprisingly firm squeeze. In fact, I had to resort to using three-finger pulling power instead of my standard two-finger arrangement. It’s likely a swap of brake pad material would restore the bite we expect from the Brembos.

Considering the Guzzi weighs nearly 70 road-holding-pounds more than the BMW, the big Italian carries itself well. It’s also $1k less in price than the BMW, but for that kind of money we’d like to see ABS included, as it is on the Beemer. The standard CB we were riding also doesn’t come with ABS, but the Deluxe version does for an extra $1500.

+ Highs

Retro sexy

Factory customizable

Tasty forged aluminum components

– Sighs

Undersprung, underdamped, non-adjustable front suspension

Pricey

Least-comfortable seat

Out of this bunch, the BMW is certainly recognized as the sportiest. It’s combination of relatively light weight and the most power give the nineT an ample advantage in the tight stuff, despite its poorly balanced suspension components. In stock trim, the R nineT can carry a passenger, but that’s not really what this bike was built to do. Our suggestion is: after purchase, remove that unsightly rear subframe (which includes passenger pegs), fit the accessory Aluminum Tail Cover (which gives a tad of under-seat storage in place of the pillion), attach the accessory high-pipe (to help showcase the single-side rear swingarm), and enjoy the nineT for the solo mount it was meant to be.

Retro Roadster Comparo Scorecard

Category

BMW R nineT

Honda CB1100

Moto Guzzi Griso 8V SE

Price

15.0%

100.0%

50.0%

Weight

100.0%

62.5%

55.0%

Engine

89.2%

65.0%

82.5%

Transmission/Clutch

77.5%

84.2%

75.0%

Handling

85.0%

80.8%

74.2%

Brakes

85.0%

86.7%

73.3%

Suspension

73.3%

82.5%

88.3%

Technologies

23.3%

6.7%

28.3%

Instruments

71.7%

74.2%

85.0%

Ergonomics/Comfort

70.0%

80.0%

80.0%

Appearance

95.0%

77.5%

90.0%

Cool Factor

94.2%

73.3%

94.2%

Grin Factor

90.0%

56.7%

87.5%

Overall Score

79.2%

72.2%

78.7%

Price and weight are scored based on objective metrics. Other scores are listed as a percentage of editors’ ratings in each category. The Engine category is double-weighted, so the Overall Score is not a total of the displayed percentages but, rather, a percentage of the weighted aggregate raw score.

With such a loose class of motorcycles, the scores from our editors varied more than usual. All three bikes are appealing in their own ways. The Honda is the nicest and easiest to ride; the Guzzi exudes quirky Italian charm; and the BMW boasts top-shelf finish detailing and the sportiest performance.

In the end, it was the Guzzi and the BMW trading blows for the class win. Burns and I like the Guzzi a smidge more than the BMW for no better reason than we think it’s a little cooler, with a touch of the world’s-most-interesting-man-charisma the BMW just can’t match. Meanwhile, Duke’s clear preference was for the uber-cool R nine-T and its performance advantages.

Determining the victor couldn’t have been closer. I chose the Guzzi over the BMW by only a quarter point (103.0 vs 103.25). Burns had a wider spread between the two bikes, but when combined with Duke’s scores, it wasn’t enough to overcome the bike we chose as this year’s Best Standard.

This image depicts the finishing order of our Retro Roadster Shootout.

“The Griso is definitely a cool machine, but I think the nineT is cooler, and the performance of its chassis and engine are undeniably superior,” says Duke.

By unanimous decision, though, the Honda CB1100 came in last, but it wasn’t a distant last; just 16.25 points separated second from third. At $10,399, the Honda is the least expensive bike here, but that doesn’t make up for its lackluster performance. Ridden alone, outside of a direct comparison test, the Honda seems a stellar motorcycle when measured simply by its pure proficiency at being a motorcycle. So, if you’re not a multi-bike owner looking to expand the caliber of your personal arsenal, the Honda could be the best choice for single-bike ownership.

Into the river, through the woods, over the mountains, across the desert, down the rabbit hole. When either daydreaming about or participating in two-wheel world travel, BMW’s R1200GS always seems to be at the top of the list. No other motorcycle captures the imagination then lives up to the hype of an exotic, foreign escapade as does BMW’s blue-chip Adventure-Tourer.

At the top of the GS range is the R1200GS Adventure, a more off-road-capable adventurer. Retailing for $21,550 when outfitted with the Premium Package (standard model Adventures only available by special request in North America), it largely depends on your tax bracket whether you’re daydreaming of owning this premier motorcycle. For those who are willing (and able) to afford the Adventure model, knowing if the asking price is worth the investment is antecedent to actually making the purchase.

To help determine this answer we spent a 200-mile day aboard a fully outfitted Adventure of which the majority of those miles were unpaved. Beginning with some of the technical changes, here’s what we found.

As we noted in our 2014 BMW R1200RT Review, there’s only a few, but significant, changes to the precision-cooled Boxer engine from the standard GS. Both the GSA and RT engines share a two-pound increase in crankshaft journal mass, which translates to 20% more crank inertia. The other, specific to the Adventure, is a load reversal damper meant to offset the increased stress caused by the steeper swingarm angle, a result of the increased suspension travel. All other technical aspects about the new Boxer powering the GS and RT can be read in our review of the all-new R1200GS from last year.

From this angle the GSA appears to be the world’s most unaerodynamic motorcycle, but it all serves a purpose beyond just being intimidating. Hand guards, taller windscreen, wind deflectors and a wider front fender all comprise to provide better protection for the rider. The high air intakes keep water from being sucked into the airbox, while the crashbars not only protect the engine and bodywork, but also those oh-so-important radiators.

At 8.3 inches up front and 8.7 inches out back, the Adventure rides on 0.8 inches more suspension travel than the standard GS. This increase, in order to maintain the same quick steering attributes of the standard GS, elicited a one-degree steepening in rake, from 25.5 degrees of the standard GS to 24.5 degrees on the Adventure. To quell any nervousness from the revised front end, BMW added a hydraulic, non-adjustable steering damper damper that also makes its way onto the standard GS.

The more costly upgrades to the Adventure Premium Package are of the electronic variety, namely Dynamic ESA and Ride Modes Pro. In addition to the Rain and Road riding modes, Ride Modes Pro brings to the table Dynamic, Enduro and Enduro Pro riding modes. Dynamic is for the experienced road rider who wants the best performance the Adventure has to offer when navigating a paved ribbon of asphalt. When using this mode, keep in mind it’s optimized for road tires, not knobby off-road ones – forgetfulness may turn your “minor drifts” into major ones.

Enduro and Enduro Pro modes keep things exciting when riding off-road. Both ABS and TC are On/Off switchable in any ride mode. Selecting Enduro Pro mode leaves TC engaged but minimizes its effect, and switches ABS off on the rear wheel while leaving it engaged for the front wheel. Enduro Pro also optimizes throttle response. BMW says Enduro Pro is for the experienced rider whereas Enduro mode, comparatively, only reduces TC at the rear wheel, maintains ABS on both wheels and smooths throttle response.

For me, what it came to is, after riding the first part of our dirt excursion in Enduro Pro I got tired of wrestling the 575 pounds of claimed wet weight, and decided to take it down a notch and give the Enduro mode a try. What I found was that Enduro mode retained most of the fun of Enduro Pro while making it easier to maintain control of the bike. I was especially appreciative of the smoother throttle response of the Enduro mode. Where in Enduro Pro, I occasionally, unwantedly, twisted too much throttle, which had the adverse effect of suddenly turning the composed big bike into a heavyweight, raging bull. The smoother response of Enduro mode kept the beast within from emerging.

Both Enduro and Enduro Pro are activated by installing a dongle in a receptacle underneath the bike’s seat. A huge benefit after installation is that it’ll keep your settings in place when keying off the bike. Without the dongle installed, the Adventure will default to factory settings (turning TC and ABS back on if turned off) forcing you to reset your preferences each time you restart the motorcycle.

Because we spent more of our day riding in the dirt than on the pavement, our Adventure was outfitted with the optional off-road tires. Hard luggage, fog lights and aluminum bash plate are extras; everything else is stock equipment.

It’s interesting to note that when it comes to suspension, BMW and KTM are working on an inverse premise between the two company’s Adventure-Touring models. Where KTM has ESA on its more streetable 1190 Adventure and old-school clicker suspension on its more off-road R model, BMW has ESA as part of the Premium Package on its Adventure model and non-ESA suspension on the base model Adventure and GS.

While we enjoy the ease of operation and the functionality of ESA, it might be a concern for a world traveler who may be hundreds of miles from a BMW dealer should something with the electronic suspension fail. If, however, your two-wheel world travels are within the contiguous states of America, you’ve the support of BMW’s extensive dealer network, AAA, cell phone connectivity, etc.

If Dynamic ESA fails, it will typically be in a manner that inhibits changes to the damping and preload settings. Therefore, failure means it simply will not change from its last setting and will function normally in its current setting.

Considering these advantages and all the other upgrades, BMW says the 2014 Adventure offers $1,325 of value for only a $1,055 price increase, $21,550 vs $20,495.

Regardless of where your adventures lead, the R1200GSA includes both electronic and non-electronic niceties to make your trip more comfortable. The first is for those long hauls on endlessly straight freeways on the way to either twisty tarmac or an undulating dirt road. Cruise control is a modern essential on any motorcycle with a touring connotation, and the Adventure has it. The Adventure also employs heated handgrips and tire pressure monitors, both of which aren’t absolutely necessary, but certainly nice to have.

Non-electronic accoutrements include an adjustable windscreen, wide footpegs – which make standing up for long periods so much easier as well as providing better control of the motorcycle when riding off-road – and a capacious 7.9-gallon aluminum fuel tank.

Like the R1200RT, the 2014 GS Adventure benefits from a new continuous tubular steel bridge-type frame that increases rigidity for improved handling. Both the subframe and passenger footpegs are of the bolt-on variety.

All said, the 2014 BMW R1200GS Adventure is a helluva motorcycle and a value with all its upgrades compared to the previous model. However, at 575 pounds and nearly $22k, the GSA is an expensive and heavy motorcycle when compared to its nemesis, the KTM 1190 Adventure R, which at $16,799 and 519 pounds wet (6.1-gallon fuel tank) is substantially lighter and more affordable.

Previous KTM Adventures have always held an advantage in the dirt but lacked essential on-road adornments and comfort prohibiting it from getting the better of the BMW. The new 1190 Adventure has wowed us with its increased all-around performance, and we’ll soon be pitting these two against one another to determine exactly which bike is the current king of Adventure-Touring motorcycles.

Seems like forever we’ve been waiting for the new R1200RT. A year has passed since we rode the HondaST1300, Kawasaki Concours 14 and YamahaFJR1300 to Death Valley and back for our 2013 Sport-Touring Shootout. Since then we’ve been in a holding pattern to take the winner of that shootout, the FJR, and put it up against Triumph’s Trophy SE and the new RT. Well, now that we’ve ridden the new R1200RT the shootout with its contemporaries is on-deck.

A long day in the saddle of the 2014 RT riding through the stunning, red rock scenery surrounding Sedona, Arizona, provided valuable insight into BMW’s newest sport-touring Boxer. It’s too soon to say how exactly it’ll fare when ridden back-to-back against its competition, but there’s a lot to like with this new and improved version, including a basic flatlining of the 2014 models’ MSRP that effectively ups the value quotient of the upgraded RT.

Ergos

BMW managed to take a bike with an excellent all-weather reputation and improve its protective qualities. Outfitted for comfortable riding in low-60-degree weather, I was unprepared for an early-spring snowstorm. Enveloped by fat, falling snowflakes and temperatures in 30s, it was time to switch on the heated hand grips and seat, adjust the windscreen to its high position and think warm thoughts.

We can’t heap enough praise on the RT’s excellent weather protection. One journo was wearing perforated summer gloves and still claimed his fingers remained warm in the wintry weather; he was Canadian, so take that comment with a grain of salt.

I didn’t have to think hard, though, because the RT’s wind-tunnel optimized windscreen, transparent slipstream wind deflectors and perfectly positioned mirrors managed to fend off all but the nastiest broadside winds from reaching me. Wearing only thin riding socks beneath my boots, even my toes maintained warmth due to the RT’s excellent lower fairing protection. Without the windchill effect and with the warmth provided by the heated seat and grips, I rode comfortably until returning to our resort, and could have continued riding given the option.

The only drawback of having the windscreen in its highest position is that the top of it cuts directly through my line of sight (I’m 5’ 11”). When the snow wasn’t falling and temps weren’t as frigid, I preferred riding with the screen about an inch from its highest position allowing an unobstructed view over its rim. At this height, any increase in wind noise or helmet buffeting is negligible. Otherwise, in the low position, I felt non-turbulent windflow from my shoulders up.

The instrument cluster of our test unit includes both the Garmin GPS, new TFT color display and new backlit dials. The clean layout and high resolution of the TFT display makes easy work of absorbing a lot of information.

In other other ergo news, BMW managed to narrow the frame at the seat/tank juncture, which, in conjunction with the compactness of the new precision-cooled Boxer Twin (which I’ll get to momentarily), allows for a 0.8-inch lower rider triangle. Riding with the standard seat in its high position, my 32-inch inseam managed a flat-footed stance at stops, and because of this, I think the high seat in its high position will be preferable for me because it’ll afford more seat-to-footpeg leg room.

The 2014 RT’s lowest seat height is within 0.4 inches of last year’s model outfitted with the low seat and lowered suspension: 29.9 inches vs 29.5 inches, thus BMW has eliminated the lowered suspension option. Riders on the new model will also enjoy a 0.8-inch increase in seat length while its passenger seats get an 0.4-inch increase.

Power, Technology & Handling

What’s to be said about BMW’s new precision-cooled Boxer (first seen in the 2013 R1200GS) that hasn’t already been said? Well, how about the fact that the RT’s version features a two-pound increase in crankshaft journal mass, while the more powerful alternator (from 510 to 540 watts) increases its mass by 1.3 pounds. The increased mass of both combine to create more engine inertia, giving the opposed-Twin a heavier flywheel effect.

Beemer traditionalists may find the engine takes some getting used to, as its character and sound will be unfamiliar from what they’re accustomed. BMW claims, however, the result is a smoother engine, which is true at freeway cruising speeds and below, but the nearer to redline you venture, the more vibration tends to creep in through the handlebars.

Even with a 0.8-inch reduction in rider triangle height, cornering clearance remains ample. The top box is an accessory, but the saddlebags are stock equipment.

But high-revolution riding isn’t what the RT is about. Staying lower in the rev range and using engine torque to squirt out of corners is the RT’s strong point, and to help with this practice are longer secondary transmission ratios. Otherwise, the RT enjoys improved engine performance to the tune of 15 horsepower and three ft-lbs of torque over the previous air/oil-cooled model.

Elevating the sportiness of the RT’s engine most of all has got to be the Shift Assist Pro. BMW lingo for quick shifter, the Pro version on the 2014 RT adds clutchless downshifting to the recipe, giving the RT a more advanced quick-shifting technology than most top-shelf sportbikes.

Coming fast into a 20-mph corner, simply close the throttle, tap down on the shift lever and the Shift Assist Pro instantly matches engine revs and seamlessly grabs a lower gear. Upshifts are met with the same fluidity. Just don’t expect it to work at around-town speeds or half-throttle inputs where clutch operation is needed to maintain smooth transmission engagement. The Shift Assist Pro is a sporting technology meant to be used as such, emphasizing the sport in the sport-touring equation.

Headlight Pro sounds impressive, but the term means that you’ve opted to include LED Corona Rings around the headlights, not the adaptive headlights of the K1600.

My only complaint is that, when using the clutch, I found its very narrow friction zone at the end of the lever’s throw difficult to manipulate. Slow speed maneuvering was met with a herky-jerkiness I hadn’t mastered by the end of our ride.

The new Dynamic riding mode on Premium Package models provides a more sportbike-like experience with some rear-wheel spinning and a direct connection from the rider’s hand to go power. BMW says it’s for “experienced riders.”

Another new addition on the RT is Hill Start Control – a technology that helps to get a fully loaded RT underway from a dead stop on a steep incline. To actuate, a rider applies a firm pull on the front brake lever to engage the rear brake, after which the rear brake’s caliper maintains pressure on the disc, holding the bike in place. With the rear brake engaged, a rider can maintain a stable, two-footed stance while manipulating throttle and clutch operation, easing the transition from standstill to forward motion. The process demands more throttle input than a normal launch requires, but Hill Start Control is a technology any touring rider who’s struggled with a weighted motorcycle at a graded stop will immediately recognize as beneficial.

In the handling department, a new continuous tubular-steel bridge-type frame was designed to increase rigidity and road feel. This new frame, says BMW, in combination with the more compact Boxer engine, lowers the bike’s center of gravity. The in-motion result is the illusion of the RT being more petite than its actual size.

As one of the lighter sport-touring bikes available today, (604 pounds with its 6.6-gallon tank full), the RT navigates long sweepers and tight switchbacks with equal aplomb. The RT is both nimble and stable, making for a great companion on twisty mountain roads or long, deserted straightaways.

Electronics

BMW is a leader in the use of modern electronic rider aids, and the 2014 RT comes with a host of new electronic highlights. Having mentioned the new Shift Assist Pro and Hill Start Control, BMW also brings to the game Dynamic ESA, Ride Mode Pro, On-Board Computer Pro, GPS Preparation, and a large TFT color display.

Dynamic ESA electronically adjusts suspension damping to one of three settings, Soft, Normal, Hard, depending on the Riding Mode selected. The setting can, however, be changed to your personal preference. For example, if you’re in Dynamic riding mode which automatically sets suspension to Hard, you can choose to change this to either Normal or Soft while keeping the riding mode in Dynamic.

Like other motorcycles with electronically adjustable suspension, I find that while ESA takes away some of the fine-tuning capabilities of twisty knobs, the convenience factor is worth the tradeoff. For those unconvinced, base model RTs still come equipped with unplugged shocks.

The TFT color display is new to all 2014 versions of the RT. The 5.7-inch window displays information from the RT’s onboard computer and audio controls. Using the multi-controller and various fairing-mounted buttons, the TFT color display provides the rider with all the current settings such as Ride Mode, suspension setting, ambient temperature, tire pressure, radio channel selection, etc. While I noticed an occasional reflection made viewing difficult, the screen is adjustable to two positions.

For the US market, BMW is focusing on R1200RTs outfitted with the Premium Package, because that’s how (we’re told) us Americans roll – go big or go home. Our test bike was outfitted not only with the Premium Package but also with these options: Central Locking ($400) and Gear Shift Assist Pro ($475). There’s also an Anti-Theft Alarm ($395), or get all three for the package price of $850, bringing the total MSRP to $21,700. Oh wait, the Garmin GPS unit is also sold separately for around $850, increasing the price to $22,550.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the 2014 RT represents a good value, at least when compared to the outgoing model. While pricing for the Base model did increase $300, it actually fell $100 for the Standard model and remained the same for the Premium model. Considering the increase in standard componentry, the new R1200RT gives you more motorcycle for less, the same and not much more money.

At $15,890 for the new FJR1300A, also with electronic suspension (reviewed here), we’ll soon see how much of a value the new RT is when compared to competing models from other OEMs. Look for our Sport-Touring Shootout 2.0 coming soon!